Why the Blue Snake Smiles
by shastar27
Summary: Kagome is stuck in the feudal era without Inuyasha and the gang. Though Naraku has been beaten an evil demon still yearns for her. Now Kagome and Sesshomaru are forced to work together to keep Kagome safe, with both of them less than pleased by this fact.
1. Chapter 1

(A/N) Hello to all you people out there on . This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic so please don't flame my work. If you don't like it don't comment, but if you have some constructive critisim i'm all for it. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the materials, places or characters used in this fic. All credit for this show goes to Rumiko Takahashi.

Stone Cold Hearts

Prologue: Alone.

_Broken, scared, and alone, she waits. She waits for her savior that may never come. She waits for a love that will never be realized. Her heart is breaking, her mind is numb. Her bones are stiff, and her blood runs cold. Her beautiful chocolate brown eyes glaze over as her hope begins to fade. The skin on her slender body becomes taut and slick with a cold sweat._

"_I will die here", she tells herself sullenly. "I will die here, at the bottom of this well, in the feudal age of Japan. Out of time and out of place, I will die without saying good-bye and I will die, alone." _

_Alone…the word begins to vibrate inside of her skull. As she listens to this word play over in her head she is resigned to her inevitable fate. _

"_I, Kagome Higurashi, will die here…alone." At this statement she lets her mind wander and heart shatter into pieces…never to be put back together again._

_Broken, scared, and most definitely alone, she waits. She waits for the end of her pain, of her suffering and she waits for the end of her broken heart._

_Her eyes slip shut as she begins to understand that this was her fate all along._

"_I was destined to be alone; I should have known that from the beginning. I was never meant to be loved by Inuyasha, and it was a mistake to think that I could be", she reminds herself matter-of-factly. "He has, and always will love Kikiyo…to him I am just her reincarnation. I will never be any one he wants to love. Ha…I guess I ought to thank Naraku for dumping me in here, breaking most of my bones. If he hadn't done this, I probably would have done it myself trying to get home. At least now I know that I can't get back to my own time. I also know that the Shikon Jewel is gone, Naraku is dead and Kikiyo and Inuyasha are going to be happy together. I bet that perverted monk, Miroku, will be happy with Sango, the demon slayer as well._

"_Shippo will find someone cute to be with and Kaede will continue to protect her village as their priestess. Sesshomaru, Rin, and Jaken will go on with their lives, and not give me a second thought. And…I also know… that I will have to be content with the un-happy ending to my fairytale life. Everyone else will be able to live their lives without too much worry or pain, while I will have to forget about that completely, because I will die here at the bottom of this well, in the feudal age of Japan…alone. "_

_At her last revelation, she lets herself slip into unconsciousness, possibly never to be awoken again, with a smile upon her pitiful face._

_Broken, unconscious, and alone, she waits._

(A/N) Please R&R. If you guys (and or girls X3) like this please let me know. I have the next two chapters already typed up, but i don't want to post them if no one is going to read them. Let me know if you want me to continue and I hope you guys (and or girls X3) liked it.

~shastar27.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: A special thanks to those of you that reviewed: **Liv The Life ~**Thank you dahling i'm so glad thatyou think that this rinky-dink story is worth being compared to the famous "Double Rainbow"**UniQueMimI-O.B.S.E.S.S.I.O.N~ **Thank You so much for thatwonderful comment you cannot possibly imagine how happy that made me feel :) So i'm updating this for those of you that reviewed and for those of you that have read this story. Now...On with the fic!

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Chapter one: Found.

It was late in the afternoon when Sesshomaru, full demon prince of the western lands, decided he should take a_ stroll_. He had been sitting under a slightly aged tree, contemplating what to do when something caught his attention. It was the scent of that girl his half-demon brother, Inuyasha, traveled with. It was faint and masked by other scents, but it was still there.

What brought his attention to her scent more than anything was the fact that she smelled of death. The smell was pungent to say the least and it had gotten him curious. He was also curious as to why she wasn't surrounded by Inuyasha's, for lackof a better term, overbearing scent. He was so used to the two scents being together that the change was abrupt, though he cared little about such things.

Before he left to investigate the situation, Sesshomaru had left his loyal servant Jaken with specific instructions.

"Watch Rin," he had said in his usual nonchalant way, but his face said that if Jaken failed to protect Rin, said servant would pay severely.

"Aye milord," Jaken responded swiftly, greatly realizing the obvious threat to his life. Sesshomaru nodded in confirmation at Jaken's response, and set off on his _stroll._

As Sesshomaru walked through the forest, Kagome's scent became more and more noticeable to him. The evident smell of death was still around her, but there was no obvious smell of fear on her, which normally accompanied death. In its place he found the only scent of calm.

"Odd," he said. "Though I should expect no less from such an _odd _creature," he added as an after thought.

He continued to walk in the direction of Kagome's scent. Eventually he stumbled upon a small clearing with an old well in the middle.

He had expected to see Kagome's body twisted and contorted on the ground in the clearing before him. To his surprise all he saw were pieces of her ridiculous green, white, and red clothing. One of her shoes was in front of the well too.

_Did she strip before entering the well to get home, _he thought quizzically.

As he pondered his latest statement, he began to wonder whether or not this trip had actually been necessary. Obviously Kagome was nowhere to be seen, and it was none of his business as to whether or not she had decided to remove her clothes before going home.

Besides he had other things to worry about. He couldn't waste his time worrying about _humans_ that he didn't care for. He also could not afford to be away from Rin for long periods of time. Even with Naraku gone there was still a threat to her life from lower level demons.

With this thought in mind, he began to leave the clearing. Sesshomaru might have been three steps out when he heard a low moan. Had he not been a dog demon with impeccable hearing, he would not have heard it. The fact that he did hear it though intrigued him.

He made himself turn away from the awful sound that continued to resound in his head.

"I have little time for this," he scolded himself. "I must get back to Rin and Jaken and continue with my own business ".

Once again, he had barely started to walk when he heard that awful moan become louder.

_It almost sounds like an, echo? No…it seems hollower. The sound must be coming from the well. Maybe that Kagome girl is stuck at the bottom. How tragic. _

Sesshomaru did believe that it was tragic; mostly… however it was not his place to pity the girl for getting herself into that position. If she truly was stuck at the bottom of the well, it was most likely her own fault and he didn't have the time to save her from her own blunders.

With this in mind, he walked even further out of the clearing. He was commending himself for successfully ignoring the girl, when the moan sounded, again!

_Dammit all, _he screamed internally. _Maybe I could kill her, just to put her out of her misery. That would be okay wouldn't it?_ No it wouldn't be okay he realized. Rin would be devestated if she found out that he had killed Kagome.

He began to rack his brain for another solution, when suddenly it hit him like a ton of bricks.

_I can drop her off at the village in this area and let them deal with her. After all, she is not my responsibility._

And so with this thought, he made his way to the well.

The sight Sesshomaru had seen was absolutely horrendous. He was right. Kagome had been at the bottom of the well. She had also been stripped of almost all her clothing, though that seemed to be no fault of her own. She was unconscious as well.

In her sleep she twitched with pain. Low groans of discomfort were emitted from her lips. Her eyes moved rapidly behind their lids as she dreamed. Her breath was ragged and labored, but she did not seem to be in utter distress.

_What has happened to this girl,_ Sesshomaru thought contemplatively. He was actually curious as to what had happened to her, and this surprised him. However, he did not let himself dwell on his curiosity.

_After all curiosity killed the cat, _Sesshomaru reminded himself.

_But _you_ are a _dog_, _responded a voice form the back of Sesshomaru's mind.

"I know that," Sesshomaru responded out loud, sounding rather perturbed.

Chastising himself for being so ridiculous, Sesshomaru began the task of descending into the well to retrieve Kagome. He hoped this task would be over soon. He truly did not want to help the girl. He didn't have to help her either. The only thing that made him help her was the fact that she was making those god awful noises.

Retrieving the girl had been easy enough. Taking her to the village was also fairly easy. Finding someone willing to take her, however, was a different story.

He had gotten one main response from every villager in town as to his appearance with the girl. First the villager in question would a gape at the two, and then they would blink their eyes. Finally realization would hit them and they would begin to scream begging and pleading for their lives to be spared.

After about the twentieth villager, Sesshomaru had had enough. He began to make his way through the throng of terrified villagers to what he thought would be the priestess's hut.

It did not take long for him to reach his destination. The villagers had been amazingly cooperative. They had moved out of his way without any sort of a fuss.

True, they had only moved for fear of their lives, but the dog demon decided not to acknowledge this fact.

Once he made it to the hut, it was obvious that the villagers' screams had alerted the head priestess of the village. He saw an old woman dressed in priestess attire. She was standing with her bow at the ready.

Sesshomaru looked at her faced and remembered seeing her before. He did not know her name, nor did he wish to know. All he wanted to do was leave the village and leave the girl as well.

He was about to drop the girl when suddenly the old woman spoke.

"What business do ye have with young Kagome, Sesshomaru elder brother of the half demon Inuyasha?"

"My business is my own old woman. I do not have to explain my actions to you. It would do you well to remember that," Sesshomaru responded, still obviously annoyed at his current situation.

The old priestess was shocked at his elaborate response. She remembered him, and she also remembered that he was a demon of hardly any words. It took her awhile to recoil from the shock, but when she did, she did not fail to respond to the rude quip he had made.

"Ye need not be so rude, demon lord Sesshomaru. My name is Kaede, not _old woman_ and I am merely curious as to why you have brought young Kagome here, in this state of health."

"Her state of health is no fault of mine," Sesshomaru responded, not wanting to answer the latter part of her query. He did not feel like explaining his motives to this decrepit old woman. It was confusing to him as to why he had saved her, so he decided to spare the old woman the headache that would follow his explanation.

"I figured as much. So am I to assume that ye have brought Kagome here to help her?"

Kaede knew it was a ridiculous thing to say, for she knew that Sesshomaru never did anything to help anybody unless it was beneficial to him-self. She only said it because she wanted to see how he would react.

She was sorely disappointed, for Sesshomaru did his best never to show his initial reaction to anything. He stood there with his eyes uncaring and his face full of obvious boredom, so his listless answer was not a surprise.

"I have only brought her here because her moans of pain were a disturbance in my day," said Sesshomaru.

"I see…" Kaede began, "So ye have brought her here only to be rid of her."

"Correct." Sesshomaru decided it was appropriate to leave it at that. It saved him the trouble of having to go into detail about what happened earlier that day.

And so with his last word, he dropped Kagome on the step of Kaede's hut and began to walk away. He was half way down the road when he heard Kaede speak.

"I am grateful to ye, Sesshomaru, and so I thank ye. I will tell young Kagome that she owes her life to ye."

Sesshomaru almost told her not to tell Kagome. He did not feel like dealing with the repercussions of his actions, for life debts were tricky business. On the other hand, he rather liked the idea of this girl owing her life to him so he made his response simple.

"Do what you will," he said "Your actions are your own."

With that he made his way back to the clearing so he could get back to Rin and Jaken.

Kaede motioned for a nearby man to pick Kagome up.

_Today has certainly been an unusual day, _she thought to herself.

With Kagome in the villagers arms, Kaede went into the hut to attend to her injuries. As she walked through the door Kagome began to stir from her sleep. It seemed as though she was trying to run away from someone, or something.

"Inu… Inuyasha," Kagome said in a hoarse tone. After she said his name she began to cry.

"Hush child," Kaede said. "Ye need not worry about Inuyasha. He and Kikiyo are in a village nearby safe from the demons that plague this land."

Kagome relaxed as she heard Kaede words. Her tears ceased and she went into a more peaceful sleep.

"Sleep well my child," Kaede said. "Sleep well."

Sesshomaru walked back into the field where he had left Jaken and Rin. At the same time of his entrance, another one of his companions, Ah-Un, arrived as well with Kohaku sitting calmly on his back. Kohaku had taken Ah-Un on a mission to find his sister, apparently their search had yeilded no results. Ever since Kikiyo had managed to save his soul Kohaku's one and only mission had been to find his sister, the Demon Slayer, that day came he had decided to stay with Rin and her group.

"Ah-Un, Kohaku," Sesshomaru heard Rin cry out. "and lord Sesshomaru, it's good to see that you're all back."

Sesshomaru almost let himself smile at her joy. It always gave him a sort of happiness when he knew that Rin had missed him. But, being who he was, he could not allow himself to smile, so he nodded in recognition and took a seat on a near by rock.

Sesshomaru watched as Rin hugged Kohaku and began to play with the beast that had just arrived. He was so pre occupied, that he didn't notice when Jaken made his way to him.

"So milord, did you have a pleasant walk," Jaken asked with true curiosity. His lord had been away a long time, and he wanted to know where he had been.

"It is none of your business, Jaken," Sesshomaru said irritably. He was not in the mood to tolerate Jaken.

"Aye milord," Jaken said. "I will go and check on Rin now. I wonder if she…," He trailed off as he began to move towards Rin, Kohaku and Ah-Un.

Once again Sesshomaru watched as Rin played with Jaken, Kohaku and Ah-Un. But even though he was watching them, his mind was on other things, one other thing in particular. His thoughts had strayed to that Kagome girl.

_I should not think about her. She is in the village with that old woman whose name I have forgotten. She is no longer a problem of mine._

But try as he might, Sesshomaru could not remove the image of her battered body at the bottom of the well from his mind. Every time blinked he saw her twitching in pain.

Finally he had had enough so he forced his mind onto other tings and closed his eyes and began to fall into a light sleep.

_Kagome is to be forgotten. You have other more important things to worry yourself about._

And with this thought in mind, he fell asleep.

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A/N: Wow editing this chapter in the document manager was a piece of work. I completely forgot to add Kohaku when I had typed this up in word -.- Gee shows how much I pay attention. Oh well, there's no use crying over misprints when you can fix them. Once again I thank those of you that have reviewed and favorited this fic it does truly brighten my day.

Please review if you have something kind to say, constructive critisim is also welcome. Thanks for taking the time to read this X3

See you all at the next chapter and I will update as soon as I can.

~shastar27


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N): I am so sorry for not updating this for so long. I promise I'm working on it in my writing journal. I'm already on chapter 6 I just haven't been able to find the time to type them up, life got in the way -ugh- =.=. Once again I apologize to anybody that was waiting for this, please forgive me. Any way back to business; heads up I'll be changing the summary. The life debt will still be involved but I've come up with a slightly different plot line so the summary no longer fits. I might change the title when I can come up with one.

Disclaimer: Ido not own Inuyasha or its characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I will specify the characters that are minein later chapters.

Now on with the fic!

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Chapter two: Adjusting

Kagome woke up to a bright light coming through a rather pathetic excuse for a window. She had a feeling that she knew where she was, but her mind was too fuzzy for her place her surroundings correctly.

She let her mind wander for a moment, trying to figure out where she was exactly. She was still in the feudal era, that much was certain. She could tell that she was in a hut by the patchy ceiling that she was looking up at. She could also tell she was lying on some sort of futon.

She tried to put all of the information she had gathered together.

_Let's see,_ she thought slowly. _Bad ceiling, plus terribly uncomfortable futon, plus bright sunlight coming through a shabby window equals…Well it equals something._

Kagome was doing her best to figure out where she was, but before she could think herself into a black hole, old lady Kaede walked in.

_So that's where I am,_ Kagome thought sadly. She didn't get time to dwell on her sadness though. Before Kagome could begin to really feel upset, lady Kaede began to speak.

"Good morn' to ye young Kagome," she said in an absolutely cheerful manner. It made Kagome sick to her stomach. Here she was in lying on the cold unforgiving ground-sort of, because the futon didn't really do much to keep her off of the ground-, in pain, and this old hag had the nerve to say that it was a good morning.

"Yeah right," Kagome responded in a dejected tone, her voice cracking a bit due her sore throat. As previously established, it was not a good morning for her.

Kaede was silent for a moment. She was trying to understand why Kagome would be in such a sour mood. Then it hit her like the house that fell on the Wicked Witch of the East.

"Kagome, ye should not dwell on the current state of things. Ye may be in pain as of right now, but the pain will eventually fade. Ye should rejoice in the fact that ye are alive. Please do not act like this, young Kagome, for it is unhealthy."

Kagome decided that it would be better for her not to respond to lady Kaede's mini pep talk. The respectful part of her brain was inoperative at that moment in time. She was certain that if she gave a response, it would be rather rude and unnecessary. Instead she settled for turning her face away from lady Kaede and looking out of the ugly hole in the hut's wall known as the window.

The two women remained in silence for a long while. It was Kaede who finally decide to break the proverbial ice.

"Kagome ye must know something, it is somewhat interesting and important…" Kaede began to trail off at the end of her sentence. She was unable to phrase what she wanted to say in a manner that would not aggravate Kagome any further.

Kagome waited patiently for the old woman to finish what she was saying. However, she was not known for her patience. In the end her impatience and curiosity got the better of her.

"Well," she said, "Go on. If it's important, then go ahead and tell me." Kagome said her last statement as nicely as possible. Even though she was upset about numerous things, she still respected lady Kaede enough to be kind to her.

Still, even after Kagome's words of encouragement, Kaede did not know how to deliver her message accurately. This left Kagome hanging on a horrible cliff.

Once again the two women sat in an uncomfortable silence. Kaede was still having trouble phrasing her words correctly, and Kagome's patience was wearing thin.

Finally Kagome had had enough. She tried to sit up so she walk could out of the hut. This was an awful idea. Not only did she undo the neatly tucked in covers on her futon, she also managed to send a ripple of immense pain throughout her entire body.

"Ahhh," she screamed as her ribs repositioned themselves. Her sides began to throb painfully, and she began to sob which only exacerbated the situation. Kagome tried to lie down, but once again she only made her situation worse. She looked lady Kaede for help.

Lady Kaede immediately assisted Kagome back down to the futon.

"Child, ye need to be more careful!" the old woman exclaimed. "Your body is still mending. Truly ye are still lucky to be alive. Had Sesshomaru not brought ye here when he did ye would most likely be a decomposing corpse at the bottom of the Bone Eater's Well."

Kagome blinked a couple of times.

_Did she just say that Sesshomaru brought me here? But that can't be possible. Sesshomaru would never do anything to help anyone else…EVER!_

Kagome blinked again.

…

Sesshomaru awoke to a loud and shrill sound, almost like a bird, but not quite.

He was curious as to what it was.

The dog demon prince of the west waited for the sound to go off again, when it didn't he did his best to replay it in his mind.

A shrill feminine _"What," _was all his mind supplied him.

Sesshomaru tried to place the voice, but after about twenty seconds of failure he gave up. He wasn't too desperate to know who the voice had belonged to anyway. At that moment he was more inclined to wonder about the whereabouts of Rin and his ever loyal servant Jaken.

Sesshomaru rose from his resting place quite casually, on the look out for Rin. He wasn't truly worried about her, but after all the casualties that had happened to her in result of his absence, he decided that it was better to know where she was ninety percent of the time. Sesshomaru also decided that if Jaken was left in charge of her, he himself would have to be a maximum of five feet away.

These were the matters that Sesshomaru needed to focus on, not voice recognition. But the sound that he had heard earlier truly intrigued him.

As he walked into the nearby brush, he began to think.

_Most women in this area are rather quiet, so it doesn't make sense that one of them should all of a sudden become obnoxious unless…_

Sesshomaru's thoughts began to wander further into the matter as he walked into a clearing in which he found Jaken, Rin, and Ah-Un. Rin was gathering flowers and gleefully dropping them all over Jaken, Jaken was becoming upset over the fact that he was being used as a flower pot and Ah-Un was chewing on some nearby grass contentedly.

Having now made sure that Rin was safe, Sesshomaru began to slip out of the clearing. Unfortunately he did not get very far; Rin had seen him and decided that he should join her in aggravating Jaken.

"Lord Sesshomaru," she said in her childish manner. "Come play with master Jaken and me," She asked.

"I have little time for such frivolous tasks," he responded in his ever so popular emotionless way. It was not that he did not want to play with Rin; in fact it was quite the opposite. It was more that he didn't know how. Playing had been something that he found to be pointless, even as a child. So whenever he was asked by Rin to join in her childish antics, Sesshomaru always declined.

Besides at that specific point in time he was more interested in finding out which woman had caused such a disturbance in his day. It was something that was situated at the front of his over occupied mind.

He tried to concentrate on the task at but Rin's constant pestering was getting in the way of that.

It was true that Sesshomaru never played as a child. This caused his inability to play with Rin like she had wanted. He had never played games like hopscotch or jump rope or anything of that nature. In all honesty he never did anything that could be considered remotely close to fun…unless training day in and day out could be counted. His main focus at that point in his life had been learning how to fight so that he could succeed his father's title flawlessly. He had wanted to surpass his father's skill level, showing that he would be an honorable and skillful ruler of the western land.

As Sesshomaru lamented upon his childhood, the voice that he had been trying to identify earlier popped back into his mind. Rin had long since walked off so now he was able to concentrate on his earlier task.

_Apparently, there is a reason why I keep hearing this pathetic sound…I just need to find __this reason, _he thought sardonically. He was getting rather annoyed at hearing the rude wench's cry over and over.

He contemplated the sound for a moment thinking that if he waited, he might be able to recognize it. The only reason why continued with this ridiculous endeavor was because he was convinced he had heard the sound before, or at least the voice that had created the sound.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes, pissed off at his current situation. He had never experienced the sensation of something nagging continuously at the back of his mind. Being the demon that he was, usually he was able to analyze and remedy any problem that he was forced to face. In this case all he could do was sit back and do nothing.

Much to Sesshomaru's dismay he could not just rip the sound apart like any other adversary that he had faced. This happened to be his favorite modus operandi, so sitting and waiting for something to happen was aggravating him to no end.

"This is ridiculous," Sesshomaru grumbled aloud. Unfortunately Rin had heard him and so she bounded back to him with a concerned look plastered upon her all too innocent face.

Sesshomaru saw Rin coming and for saw one of her unrelenting question and answer periods. He was not looking forward to this in the slightest. Every time she asked a question it usually concerned his health or his state of mental being.

Considering his current situation she would be lucky if he did not simply growl at her in response.

As Rin got closer Sesshomaru began to clench his fist, and the closer she got the harder he clenched. By the time she was within two feet of him he had clenched his fist so hard that he began to draw blood. He watched her advance doing his best not to get up off of the rock he was positioned on.

"Lord Sesshomaru," Rin said as she made it to his spot in the field.

_Here it comes,_ he thought and winced ever so slightly.

"Yes?" he replied as nonchalantly as possible.

"Why do you look so upset?" she continued.

It was an honest question Sesshomaru knew that, but somehow he couldn't help but grumble to himself about human creatures being to nosy for their own good.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin questioned still wondering why her lord looked so conflicted.

Sesshomaru stared at her. As previously established, he did not feel like telling the girl his situation. He couldn't very well look her in the eye and say, "Oh…nothing is wrong per say, I just keep hearing a women's voice screaming in my head, but it's not a real big problem because I'm taking all the steps necessary to identify this voice." No he could not tell her that. Sesshomaru had a hard enough time trying to justify that response any way. So instead he went for a generic reply.

"I am just thinking of something that is agitating me, that is all." He was proud of himself for coming up with such a simple answer.

Sesshomaru was too busy congratulating himself to realize that Rin still looked a bit puzzled.

"But lord Sesshomaru, if it's making you mad why are you still thinking about it?"

_Damn._

"It is something that I am required to think about for it is very important," Sesshomaru lied, hoping to whichever gods who were laughing at him, that the child would drop the issue.

"Oh…okay then…so can you come and play with me and Ah-Un now? Master Jaken got mad that he kept losing and stormed off in a huffy."

_Damn it all_, Sesshomaru thought,_ if it's not one thing with this child it's another._

_And you love it, _something in the back of his mind told him. Sesshomaru decided to ignore this occurrence and respond to Rin before she could ask him any more questions.

"No. I cannot play with you and Ah-Un as of right now," his said his heart nearly breaking at the sight of her disappointed face.

_Déjà vu anyone?,_ he thought.

"Well okay then," she responded and skipped off to continue playing with  
Ah-Un.

Sesshomaru gave a mental sigh of relief. He was finally able to get back to the task of identifying the voice that had been plaguing him.

Around about an hour of mind racking later Sesshomaru's mind supplied him with what he had been looking for.

_Kagome, that voice belongs to that Kagome girl, Inuyasha's former wench._

And with that amazing revelation, Sesshomaru got up from his rock and sat closer to Rin and Ah-Un. He had contemplated checking in on Kagome for all of two seconds. He quickly rejected that idea and went on with his former action.

_Maybe if I happen across her__ again I will inquire about her health…maybe._

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(A/N) : Thank you for reading this, please tell me what you think. Constructive critisism is welcomed. Also if you feel so inclined please review. Reviews motivate me to type the next chapters. I will try to update every 2 weeks, but don't quote me on that. Review and I will see you in the next chapter.

~shastar27


	4. Chapter 4

(A/N): Thak you for the reviews and I hope this chapter meets expectations. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not Inuyasha or the characters involved. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I will specify the characters are mine when they are intorduced.**

Now...On with the fic!

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Chapter Three: Accepting

Kagome was stunned. How could she owe her life to Sesshomaru? She wouldn't mind owing him something like twenty dollars, but owing her _life_ was completely different.

Kaogme laid down on her futon in awe. She never expected to live trough her last encounter with Naraku. She was completely resigned to die at the bottom of the Bone Eater's well. She had no intentions of owing her pathetic excuse for a life to anyone, especially Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru.

Kagome paused at his name. She had not seen him since the final battle with Naraku. She remembered seeing him standing by on the sidelines of the battle area. He wasn't doing anything, just watching. Kagome had made eye contact with him for about five seconds until she heard Inuyasha cry out in triumph. She turned her gaze away from Sesshomaru to see the damage that had been accomplished.

Apparently, Inuyasha was able to deliver a deadly blow to Naraku's heart, which just happened to be hidden inside of the demon infant that he had created in order to protect and hide his heart. Kagome looked away from Inuyasha's victory to glance at Sesshomaru once more. To her surprise she caught sight of Sesshomaru leaving with his little ward, Rin, Kohaku, Jaken, and Ah-Un.

Kagome was somewhat confused as to why he had just left.

_Did he just come to watch? Or was he here for something else?_ Kagome had thought. The girl half expected Sesshomaru to push Inuyasha out of the way so that he could kill Naraku himself. After all, since Naraku had stolen Rin, Sesshomaru had begun his own hunt for the deranged half demon.

The fact that Sesshomaru did not help his brother had not surprised Kagome. What did her was the fact that he just watched and disappeared as soon as the altercation was over.

_Maybe he was looking out for Inuyasha _she began to think but then quickly rejected the idea.

Kagome was still looking at Sesshomaru's place of exit when she saw Kikiyo enter the scene. Kagome saw the light in Inuyasha's eyes and instantly she knew that she would never important to Inuyasha. She didn't have time to dwell on this fact though. Before Naraku truly died he expelled a pair of thick tentacles with all the strength he could muster in his final moments. He picked up both Inuyasha and used every ounce of strength he had left and he threw in opposite direction.

That's all that Kagome remembered before she began pulling herself in the direction of the well. Luckily for her Naraku had thrown her in the direction of Kaede's village. However he didn't throw her directly in front of the well so she had to drag a long way. During her efforts she managed to tear apart most of her school uniform. She didn't care though; she just wanted to get home.

Unfortunately for her the world had different plans.

Kagome reached the bottom of the well only to find that the path way to her time had been sealed.

_The God's must be really made at me today._ Kagome had thought sardonically.

Kagome began to lose consciousness at the bottom of the well. Then she had woken up in old lady Kaede's home facing her current situation.

Kagome looked over to Kaede incredulously. She couldn't _really _owe her life to Sesshomaru could she?

_Of course you could and now you do, _she told herself. Her heart sank. Not only was she unable to get home, now she owed her life to an uppity dog demon prince.

_Geez… if it's not one thing it's another, not only has Inuyasha saved my life countless times, now his brother, his __emotionless _Brother _has saved me too. What or who else will I owe my life to before I truly do die._

Kagome contemplated her situation. She knew three things for certain.

She knew that she was still stuck in the feudal era. She knew that Kikiyo had gone after Inuyasha in order to treat whatever wounds he had obtained. She knew that she owed her life to Inuyasha's elder brother, Sesshomaru.

_What__ am I going to do…I can't go home any way other than the Bone Eater's well, which isn't working as of right now…now I don't know how to get home…am I just supposed to stay here for the rest of my love?_

A tear slipped down Kagome's chalky face. Lady Kaede saw this and went to comfort Kagome. She pt a hand on Kagome's shoulder and began to move in a consoling motion in order quell her sobbing.

"Ye will be alright young Kagome," lady Kaede stated. She did not know what was hurting the young girl more, her recent discovery of being indebted to Sesshomaru, or the realization that she was unable to get home to her time. Kaede figured that it was a combination of the two.

_What ever it may be, I will be here to help her through it as much as possible._

With this thought in mind, Kaede laid her hand on Kagome's forehead and told her what she had already stated to herself.

"Thank you," was all Kagome could say before she hissed in pain. During her sobs one her ribs had been displaced.

"It seems like your recovery will be a slow one young Kagome," said lady Kaede. Kagome was only able to nod her head in understanding.

_When I get better,_ Kagome began to say to herself,_ I'm going to take care of myself so that no one else will have to._

Kagome let Kaede tend to her troubles while she let her mind wander.

_I wonder what it will be like, _she thought, _to take care of myself._

…

Kagome took one last glance over her shoulder in order to see the old village that she was leaving behind. It had been four years since had been caught on the other side of the well; the side that contained evil demons, half-demons, and clueless gods. However even with all of its flaws, the feudal age of Japan had become like a second home to her. Sure she missed her home back in the twenty-first, more than anyone could know, but she found the frequent silence of the feudal era relaxing.

As Kagome made her down the bottom of the hill that she was currently on, she began to think of all the things that had transpired due to her extended stay at the village. The event that stood out the most for her was her training to become a priestess. It had been a grueling process for both her, lady Kaede, and the village. During this time, she was still recovering from some her more extensive injuries, like the nasty bruise that had decide to make Kagome's knee its knew place of residence.

Kagome had been tasked with paying attention to what old lady Kaede had to say, while doing her best not to wince in pain every time she was forced to practice her archery. There were many times when a tear would its way into the corner of Kagome's eye. At first she had let these stray tears fall, but in time she learned to hold them back. She found that this action helped her to hit her target more often than not

The hardest part of Kagome's training for everybody in the village had been her practice with sacred and sealing arrows. These two techniques required a lot of skill and patience that Kagome didn't exactly posses. It had taken her at least a year to learn hoe to effectively apply the techniques and another six months to skill perfect her skill. When the young maiden had finally mastered her bow and arrow it was a joyous day for the villagers. They would no longer have to practice what they had so rightly dubbed the "duck and cover maneuver."

Kagome laughed at her last memory. She was glad she was still able to laugh. After what Inuyasha had put her through, she had had a lot of emotional recovery to accomplish. However she had she been getting progressively better. She no longer sobbed at the sound of Inuyasha's name. She had even begun to laugh at his name. However the laughing mechanism had been put in place by her subconscious in order to mask her true feelings of pain and resentment. Initially it had been for the benefit of everyone else around her, but it soon began to help her recover as well. That still didn't help to put her heart at ease. Inuyasha had made this impossible for a while longer.

The newly established priestess put all thoughts of the half-demon out of her mind.

_I have a mission that I have to complete, so I don't have time to be thinking of that jerk._

It was true. Kagome did have a mission to complete. She was traveling to a nearby, but not to close village in order to help them with a demonic infestation. She hoped to help them get rid of their problem as easily as possible. In all honesty she was terribly nervous about her task.

_What if I screw up, what if I hurt someone and what if…_were her thoughts for a while, until she stopped herself.

_And what if I spend the rest of my life worrying about all of the "what if" possibilities? No I can't to do that. I have a life to live and now I can take care of myself in order to live it._

How ever at the end of her testimony to herself, she made it to the bottom of the hill she was walking down and promptly tripped.

…

Sesshomaru stumbled forward, landing on his right hand ever so gracefully.

_What the hell? _He thought as he picked himself up from the ground. He turned around to see what he had tripped over. Apparently it was just some priestess not paying attention to where she was walking. Sesshomaru brushed past her, he didn't feel like dealing with something so trivial.

The demon prince turned to leave. He needed to get back to Rin and Jaken. Kohaku had taken Ah-Un earlier in order to look for his sister Sango. Because of this Sesshomaru was wary about leaving Rin and Jaken to their own devices. That never seemed to work out well.

"Well that was fun," the priestess said aloud. She had gotten up in order to dust herself off. As she brushed the pants of her hakama Sesshomaru whipped around in order to face her. In the process of dusting herself off, the priestess had managed to send her scent in the direction of the demon prince. His nose recognized the scent immediately; he less than pleased by this fact. This was a scent that agitated him to no end, for various reasons. This was a scent that he had tried to forget.

"Kagome."

The priestess turned around at the sound of her name. Sesshomaru was surprised, he thought he had only spoken her name in is mind.

_Well obviously not. _A voice at the back of his mind told him. He chose to ignore it for the sake of his sanity. The demon prince looked back to Kagome.

Sesshomaru watched as the girl reeled in shock. Her mouth opened multiple times, but just as quickly as it had opened it closed once again. The open and close pattern lasted for another forty seconds before Sesshomaru turned to leave. He was sure that Rin and Jaken had gotten into some form of trouble; he needed to go pick up any collateral damage that they had managed to leave behind.

"Wait," Kagome started. "I need to ask you something!"

Sesshomaru turned around and looked her straight in the eye.

"I'm busy."

Sesshomaru made his way over to the nearby forest and found a point of entry. As he made it through the opening he was unpleased to see that the Kagome girl was still following him. She looked desperate, perhaps slightly confused. She stared directly at Sesshomaru to see whether or not she had gotten his attention. Once she was sure she had she continued with her earlier train of thought

"Why did you do it?"

Sesshomaru looked at her and kept his mouth closed. Though he had a rather good idea of what "it" was he wanted her to say it. He didn't feel like speaking more than necessary.

After a while Kagome caught on and she rephrased her question.

"Why did you save me from dieing in the Bone Eater's well?"

Sesshomaru contemplated answering. Truly he'd much rather leave and go back to make sure Jaken hadn't let Rin go off on her own and get hurt. Even so, he felt that the girl in front of him deserved an answer. Besides the answer that he had was most certainly not the answer that she was looking for. Sesshomaru thought it would be interesting to see how she reacted.

_Humans always have over exaggerated responses and this girl will be no different__._

With that thought in mind, Sesshomaru opened his mouth and answered Kagome's query.

* * *

(A/N): Thank you to those of you that are reading this fic. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can. Keep sending in your reviews and I'll see you in the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

(A/N) Alright so I've had this chapter typed up and I thought it might be a good idea to post it, what do you guys think? Keep reviewing and letting know how I'm doing (good or bad). Thank you for your continued support.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I'll explain my own characters once they come into play.

Now on with the fic! […need to find something new to say (-.-) ]

* * *

Chapter four: How to Skin a Demon Rat.

Kagome was pissed. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. She was out right pissed.

_Why that pigheaded insensitive JERK!_ She thought. She couldn't believe that Sesshomaru had answered her question in such a way.

_He saved me because my unconscious moans of pain were irritating his oversensitive ears? Of all the stupid excuses he could have picked he chose that one? I ought to find him and shoot a thousand times._

Kagome had to stop herself.

_No matter how stupid the reason, he was still willing to save me and I should be grateful for that__. However that doesn't mean I can't be mad about his answer. I still have the right to be upset._

Kagome turned east, facing the opposite direction that Sesshomaru went. She started walking in the direction of the village she was supposed to be helping. Putting all thoughts of Sesshomaru out of her head Kagome pulled on her bow and her quiver over her shoulder and walked on.

…

"Thank goodness you have arrived" said an elderly woman in a hoarse and crackling voice. She looked to Kagome with hope in her foggy eyes.

Kagome bowed, and then she smiled at the old woman.

"I'm happy to help," Kagome replied. "Just tell me where the demon is."

The old woman pointed to an abandoned shed. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Kagome knew she had to be careful. She didn't feel like humiliating herself in front of all the people that were counting on her.

Kagome began to walk toward the old shed, heart pounding. She could hear the blood pulsing through her veins. She felt like her head was about to bust; she was obviously nervous. So it's safe to say that she almost had a heart attack when someone fro, the village out a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to face the perpetrator. A man with long dark hair in a side ponytail gazed back at her, his azure blue eyes staring deep into her chocolate brown ones. He was most likely around six feet tall, he wore a faded gray workman's outfit. The man opened his thin lips to say something to her.

"Be careful, I'd hate to see a young pretty little thing like you get hurt."

The man smiled at Kagome. Kagome was only able to nod her head in recognition of his statement…honestly she had no idea how to respond.

"Oh by the way my name is Rinsuke."

Once again Kagome could only nod her head.

Kagome blinked a couple of times as she reviewed what the man had said to her.

"Rinsuke?" she asked inquisitively, doing her best not to look like a complete idiot.

"Rinsuke," he replied with a slight smirk. "Was it not clear the first time?" he continued good-naturedly. He stared at Kagome waiting for her to reply.

"Oh I'm sorry it was…I was just um surprised that you cared. I mean to say that... um… well I was um…" Kagome trailed off. Her mind was going around in circles.

_Oh, my, gosh, he is so hot!_ She thought. Kagome looked him over. He had a pair of muscular arms. His ponytail was slung over his left shoulder, and his hands were still tenderly placed on Kagome's shoulders in a reassuring grip.

As Kagome glanced over Rinsuke's features she noticed his eyes. The azure blue orbs stood out as odd to her. They were piercing and almost impossible not to look at. Kagome had never seen eyes like that before, at least lot on a Japanese man, a foreigner perhaps, but never on a Japanese man. Not unless said Japanese man was wearing contacts, which was rather improbable in the feudal age of Japan.

Kagome stared at the man for a moment longer until she heard a loud crash of a wooden building falling down behind her. She whipped her head around to see a giant rat like creature glaring back at her. Its tail was swinging back and forth while its head stayed in place. It flexed it paws, both front and back, as if it meticulously planning hoe to disembowel the girl that I saw standing a few feet away.

Kagome turned back to Rinsuke with a shaky smile.

"I guess that is what I'm supposed to be getting rid of huh?" she said, looking to the man next to her for a reply. She wondered if she would get a favorable response.

_Maybe it's someone's overgrown pet…thing… _Kagome thought hopefully.

Rinsuke looked at her with a smile that was supposedly reassuring. He nodded his head in answer to her question.

"Knock him dead." Rinsuke looked at Kagome with smiling eyes.

"I'll do my best," she said.

Kagome stepped forward with her bow in her left hand and her right hand positioned over the quiver that was situated on her back.

Kagome sighed inwardly.

_I'm ready for this,_ she told herself and in one fluid motion she pulled an arrow out of its place in her quiver. She knocked the arrow and aimed at the demon rat's nose. The arrow whizzed through the air as it sailed toward its target.

It missed.

Kagome hissed in aggravation and knocked another arrow in order to fire again. The next arrow pierced the rat's left eye and drew a greenish liquid that Kagome could only guess to be blood.

The creature howled in pain as it tried to remove the irritation from its eye. The creature began to advance toward Kagome. It seemed to know that she was the one that had caused it so much pain.

Kagome's heart began to race as she saw the rat closing in on her. She fired another arrow, loading it with a slight amount of spiritual energy. Kagome prayed as the arrow whizzed out of sight.

The arrow pierced the rat's left front leg and the creature toppled over. It struggled for a bit, doing its best to get back up from the ground.

Kagome fired another arrow right into the demon rat's other eye and once again it howled with pain, green blood flowing like water.

The villagers watched with bated breath as Kagome fired yet another arrow. She charged it with a large amount of spiritual energy and commanded it to hit the heart of the demon rat. Everyone watched as the arrow veered to the left In order to hit its target. However once the arrow was an inch away from the rat's chest it disappeared.

_What the heck? _Kagome thought. She blinked a couple of times as she watched the demon with anticipation. When nothing happened, the demon made a move to get back on its feet. It was half way up when Kagome decided to fire yet another spiritual arrow at it. This arrow stopped a good two inches away from the rat's chest before disappearing.

Kagome cursed inwardly. She had no more energy left, at least not enough to fire another arrow with the same amount of power as the other two. Her knees felt weak and she could feel herself descending toward the dusty ground beneath her.

Just as Kagome hit the ground the rat got to its feet and began to walk toward the villagers and Kagome. The girl did her best not to panic as the rat drew closer and closer into view. Kagome could see the blood lust and intent to kill written all over its pain stricken face.

_I knew I would screw this up _Kagome thought. _I knew it, I knew it, I-_

A horrible screech sounded in the air bringing back to her painful reality. She looked up to see the demon rat scowling in pain as it turned upside down. The creature began to paw at its chest frantically as if it was trying to squash an imaginary adversary.

Kagome looked puzzled. Obviously her arrows had failed so what was happening to the demon.

Just as Kagome began to crawl to the rat, an eerie pink and purple glow began to radiate at the place of the demon's heart. Once again the creature expressed its pain via screeches and howls. It pawed at its heart once more.

Kagome sat back down hoping that she hadn't made the villagers' problem infinitely worse

Rinsuke watched with a curious gleam in his eye. He looked form Kagome to the rat creature and then back to Kagome. He approached her slowly. With the intention of getting her back on her feet. He was about two feet away when he stopped on a dime. The rat sat in front of Kagome as it began to deteriorate. A hole formed where the creature's heart should have been.

Kagome watched as the beast screamed in agony one more time before it exploded in a burst of spiritual energy.

_Well… that was unexpected, _Kagome thought. For a moment everything seemed okay. The cheers of the villagers sounded and a strong pair of hands came to pat Kagome on the back. She didn't know to whom these hands belonged, because just as they reached her she fell over in a dead faint.

…

_She runs. Her eyes sting and her heart pounds. The blood rushes wildly throughout her veins. Her usually soft to the touch hair is now knotted due to the wind whipping it to and fro. Tears streak down her__ young and innocent face. Her heart shatters at the thought of the love of her life._

_Inuyasha…_

_The name makes her tears flow freely. She no longer tries to stop them. Now, the only thing that she knows how to do is run. She runs. She lets her feet carry her away from hurt and away from the memories of her past love._

_The girl's feet take her further and further into the dark, until a man's voice calls out to the girl._

"_Priestess," it whispers to the girl, urging her to stop running. She continues on, her feet burning badly as she presses forward._

"_Priestess!" the voice calls out with more force than its last attempt. She slows down letting it will her back until-_

"Priestess," Rinsuke yelled again, the worry he was feeling easily heard in is voice. He watched as Kagome's eyes fluttered open.

…

Kagome opened her eyes to see Rinsuke staring back at her with worry filled eyes. She blinked a couple times trying to orient herself.

"Where am I?" she asked, still feeling slightly sleepy. She turned her head to look at Rinsuke for an answer.

He stared at her for a while, caught in her gaze like a deer caught in the head lights. When the girl snapped her fingers, Rinsuke continued.

"Oh… sorry… um, you're in the healing hut. You, uh fainted after you got rid of the demon."

Kagome smiled. She had helped and this fact made her happy, and rather proud of herself. The mystery of the disappearing arrows still confused her though. She decided to deal with that problem at a later date. Instead she continued to smile at Rinsuke. He smiled back, before coughing in a bit of nervousness and abit of embarrassment.

The two sat there in the healing hut with an awkward silence hanging over them.

Staring at Kagome Rinsuke finally gained the courage to speak.

"I just realized that I haven't been graced with the pleasure of your name. Would you mind telling me?" Rinsuke decided to turn on the charm factor in order to get on Kagome's good side.

It worked.

Kagome opened her mouth a couple of times in order to respond but nothing came out except for a couple of unintelligible consonants.

_Come on Kagome, _she said to herself, _your lips are moving but you're not putting on any audio! Just tell the man your name!_

Kagome opened her mouth again and this time she was able to speak.

"Oh… my name is Kagome," she told Rinsuke, who's eyes opened in surprise.

"What?" Kagome wondered if she had said anything wrong. Kagome watched as Rinsuke's expression changed from on of shock to one of smug recognition.

"What?" Kagome asked again this time with a little more force. Rinsuke looked her in the eye turning the charm factor on again.

"As I said your name is the most beautiful name that a woman could have, without a doubt."

Kagome turned around so that Rinsuke wouldn't be able to see her blush. She tried to respond but once again her audio feature was, for lack of a better word, inoperative. So Kagome settled with just smiling at Rinsuke in appreciation.

Rinsuke smiled back, his azure blue eyes sparkling as he did so. He wondered if Kagome was going to stay in the village and become the local priestess. He would ask her when she didn't look so worn out.

"You should probably rest," he instructed her. "You did something pretty spectacular and you need to regain your strength."

Kagome could hear the concern in Rinsuke's voice so she smiled at him one more time and then she drifted off to sleep.

"Sleep well, priestess, sleep well."

Rinsuke walked out of the healing hut and left Kagome to rest.

…

_It's dark yet he can see very clearly. There are voices, but he can't understand them. There is a __girl, but he doesn't know her identity. She is faceless. She lives but there is a hole in the place of her heart._

_He stares into her unseeing face and asks her who she is. She __merely cocks her head to the side unable to answer. He steps forward reaching out with his right hand. He opens his palm in a beckoning gesture. The girl steps back. He's unsure if she is being afraid or cautious. He tries again with little success._

_The girl turns around and walks away. He follows her. She turns around to supposedly see him in pursuit._

Wait _he calls, trying to keep up with the girl. She runs faster and further out of his sight. The voices from earlier begin to grow louder as if trying to get his attention. He ignores them at first. _I have no time for this _he says aloud. The voices grow louder still._

What? _He cries out in frustration. He waits for a reply. The voices begin to merge into one large echoing sound._

_The voice tells him of danger, then it ceases._

What danger? _He begins to grow more and more agitated. _

_The girl is farther away almost impossible to see. However just as she is almost out of his range of vision she turns herself around. A mouth forms on her faceless head. She whispers name just loud enough for the owner of said name to hear. The girl's mouth is readying to say more. She faces the man once more and continues._

You have to help me, _she says. A cold wind comes and her image is erased from the man's sight._

_The cold wind caresses his face. He blinks confused at the events that have taken place in front of him. He stares for a moment waiting for more to happen. Nothing does._

Well, what now? _He asks and another voice calls out to him._

"Lord Sesshomaru!"_ A young girl's voice cries out to him. He ignores it trying to figure out what has just transpired._

_The girl speaks once again and this time he is unable to resist the urge to answer her._

…

Sesshomaru's eyes opened ever so slightly as he answered Rin's panicked voice. Her cries had woken him from a rather cryptic dream.

"Lord Sesshomaru, are you alright?" she asked, searching his face for any signs of pain or distress.

"What happened?" Sesshomaru questioned in reply. He decided to ignore her question for multiple reasons. Honestly he didn't know if he was alright, his head hurt severely and he felt like crawling out of his skin.

"You went to sleep for a second. I think it was because of the warm breeze that came through the clearing a moment ago. You sniffed the air and then you fell over with your eyes closed."

_That explains the headache, _Sesshomaru thought as Rin continued to explain.

"Also, Master Jaken won't wake up he's asleep over there." Rin pointed to a brown lump huddled next to a large boulder positioned on the other side of the clearing.

Sesshomaru paused to take stock of the situation.

_Rin said a warm breeze passed through this area. It's spring so it makes sense for something like that to occur. Then she said I sniffed the air and fainted… I don't __remember sniffing the air specifically but I do remember smelling something out of the ordinary. However, the fact that Jaken is also out of commission is something else to take into consideration._

Sesshomaru looked up at Rin, an inquiring look in his eye.

"Rin," Sesshomaru began, a serious tone laced within his words. "Can you remember anything else abut the warm breeze from earlier?"

Rin contemplated his question for a while. Her face twisted as she struggled to remember the details of the previous occurrence.

"It was pink and it was, um, sparkly," Rin replied with a sheepish look on her all too innocent face. She looked at her lord to make sure that he believed her.

"Hmm…" Sesshomaru mused to himself. He sat on the ground for a moment, thinking of what to do next. Sesshomaru decided that it would be best to inquire about Jaken's condition, and the where abouts of Kohaku and Ah-Un.

The dog demon got up from the ground and made his way over to lump that had been identified as Jaken. As he got closer, Sesshomaru could see that the lump was breathing.

Sesshomaru nudged Jaken with his foot. Jaken barely stirred, however he reacted enough to alert Sesshomaru that he was in no immediate danger. Sesshomaru nudged Jaken once again, growing slightly agitated.

"Get up Jaken," he commanded his underling. Jaken still did not rise. Sesshomaru glared at the demonic toad that was giving him a hard time.

A smile appeared on Sesshomaru's face. He decided to wake up Jaken in slightly different manner.

Sesshomaru knelt down beside Jaken. He put his mouth next to one of his ears. He opened his mouth in order to deliver his message.

Jaken," he began with a false cheery tone. The small demon shifted slightly subconsciously sensing the imminent danger. Seeing this Sesshomaru continued.

"Sleep for as long as you wish. I'll be waiting to greet you with a smile when you awake."

Jaken sprang into the air. His eyes held a terrified glint.

"That…that is quite alright Milord. I am awake now and I am ready to serve you in any way possible." Jaken replied hastily doing his best to avoid any ill fated outcomes that would arise by being graced with his lord's smile.

Sesshomaru left Jaken to his frantic scrambling as he turned back to Rin. He stared at her intently with a question burning on the tip of his tongue.

"Rin," he began. She looked at the demon intently. "Am I to assume that Kohaku has left with Ah-Un once again?"

Rin put a finger at the corner of her mouth as she mulled over the question that had just been posed to her. She began to nod her head slowly as if questioning her own answer.

"I think I saw them leaving just before I woke you up…"

Sesshomaru nodded. He waited for Jaken to finish his business. As if on cue Jaken scrambled over to Sesshomaru and Rin.

"Milord you look troubled what is on your mind?" Jaken questioned.

"We are leaving this area." Sesshomaru dead panned. Jaken could only nod in mock understanding: it was never really a good idea to question the demon prince.

"But why are we leaving?" Rin asked, unafraid to voice her dissatisfaction. "I like it here." She concluded.

Sesshomaru glared at the young girl slightly upset about his judgment being questioned. Jaken took this as his cue to run and hide himself behind the nearest rock. However, Jaken's caution was uncalled for. Sesshomaru merely sighed and put his only hand to his face. He looked at Rin and gave the answer to her query.

"Rin it is time to move on. Things are about to transpire that I do not wish to participate in."

Rin stared back at her lord. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity. She was older now, almost twelve, and she wanted to know more than what her lord told her. However at that moment in time, she decided that it would be better to just listen to her lord. Besides she still looked up to him with the same admiration that she did when she was a smaller child, being a young adult didn't change that.

"Where shall we go lord Sesshomaru?" she asked.

_One question after the other,_ Sesshomaru mused silently. He looked at Rin and gave her a straight forward answer. He sighed and spoke.

"I grow tired of continually roaming these lands where the demons are weak and the people are even more pathetic. I wish to check on the state of my father's estate, my home." He finished his statement, waiting for Rin to say something. It was Jaken that responded.

"Milord, do you mean to tell me that we will be going back to the castle of Inutaisho; back to your domain, The Western Lands?"

Sesshomaru looked at Jaken for a moment before slitting his amber gaze at the lowly demon.

"Obviously," he responded.

The dog demon prince began to walk out of the clearing, not waiting for his ward to follow him. Jaken wasted no time in catching up to his master, fearing that if he did not move soon he would no longer have any legs to move with. Rin only watched as the demons walked off.

"I finally get to see where lord Sesshomaru lives," she whispered to herself happily. She some pep in her step and followed her guardians respectfully.

The group left the clearing and headed in the direction of the Western Lands. As they left Sesshomaru began to think quietly to himself.

_The pink breeze that Rin mentioned must have been a spiritual blast from some demonic exorcism. Anything powerful enough to bring me down is nothing to be toyed with. I do not feel like getting myself into an unpredictable__ situation. Going back to father's castle is the best way to do that I suppose. I am not looking forward to repairing the damage that has most certainly been done to it by the incompetent servants that were left behind to guard it._

Sesshomaru sighed and walked on leading Rin and Jaken toward their destination.

"Hurry up," he commanded as he quickened his own pace. The two behind him obeyed and headed off loyal with their master to his home.

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(A/N) Why hello again it's nice to see you all at the end of this ridiculously long chapter. I hope it has met the standards of previous chapters. Review to let me know what you think; it's really nice to get feedback. So tell me what you think and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Rinsuke belongs to moi. Yeah! ^^ He's gonna pop up a lot so be prepared. *maniacal laughter* See you in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

(A/N) I am so sorry for the wait. If you were waiting for this please accept this long chapter as my apology. Now that summer vacation has started I'll be able to upload more quickly. (I never go anywhere for the summer X3) Yay! Please review and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is welcomed.

Tally ho! (See I found a new start up phrase. Yeehaw!)

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Chapter five: Of Priestesses and Villagers.

Kagome opened her eyes groggily. The late afternoon sunlight was shining harshly through the window of the healing hut. She sat up slowly assessing herself for any other injuries that she might have sustained from the other day. She stretched experimentally and yawned. Just as she was about to attempt getting up from her futon Rinsuke walked into the hut to check on her.

"How are you feeling my lady?" he inquired starring at her intently. Kagome looked at him for a moment, still lost in the oddity of his eyes, before she answered.

"You don't to be so formal you know you can just call me Kagome." She finished with a smile. Rinsuke blushed and scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Okay…um…Kagome how are you feeling?"

"Just fine thank you for being concerned about me." Kagome smiled and looked at Rinsuke for what to do next.

"Do you think you can stand up?"

Kagome made the attempt but wound up falling back down on her futon.

"I guess not." Rinsuke laughed out loud as he bent down to pick Kagome up. He hooked his arms underneath her back legs. As he brought her into the air Kagome began to struggle violently, causing him to almost lose his balance.

"What are you doing!" she screeched in protest and wriggled out of his grasp. Kagome glared at him with all of the intensity that she could muster. If looks could kill Rinsuke would have died on the spot. The young girl waited patiently for her question to be answered.

"I was picking you up so that I could take you to see the headmaster. He has requested an audience with you and he is unable to leave to his home at the moment. I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend or upset you!

Kagome looked into the eyes of the genuinely sorry man sitting in front of her: she sighed and responded to his apology.

"You don't have to be sorry you just caught me off guard okay. I guess you should take me to the headmaster now, um, but can I try standing again?" she looked at him hopefully, "I think I can now."

Rinsuke helped Kagome to her feet. She stumbled a bit at first but then regained her equilibrium. Rinsuke supported her as she began to walk forward. They walked ten steps before Kagome's legs gave out. Without a word of conformation, Rinsuke picked Kagome up and continued on his way. Kagome sighed, not even bothering to mention that he had picked her up, once again, without her permission.

As the two drew nearer to the headmaster's dwelling, Kagome began to worry her bottom lip. She was hopping she hadn't done anything bad enough to prompt the headmaster to be upset with her. Rinsuke watched as the young woman in his arms began to worry. He chuckled lightly and told her that there was nothing to worry about, that the headmaster merely wanted to discuss the events of the other day. This seemed to calm Kagome down slightly, however she still bit her lip in anticipation.

Rinsuke brought Kagome to the screen that would take her to the headmaster.

"Well, here goes nothing." Rinsuke joked as pushed the screen back. Kagome's eyes opened in fear at his statement. Rinsuke chuckled and stepped through the screen.

Kagome sighed. She had been worried for absolutely no reason. The headmaster had only wanted to thank her for her efforts from the other day.

The girl sighed and contemplated the proposal that had been given to her. The headmaster had offered her a permanent place of residence in the village. She would become their priestess for as long as she wished.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered to herself quietly.

The young priestess lamented over her current situation. On the one hand she did truly want to get to know the people of the village, on the other hand she didn't want to become attached; she still wanted to back to her real home.

_What's the old saying six in one hand half a dozen in the other? Well I guess that applies her, sort of. Mainly I feel like I've got twelve in one hand and a dozen in the other… so how do I choose?_

She concluded that the choice was clear. Truly there was no choice. In the four years that she had taken residence in Kaede's village she had always tried to get home. This usually resulted in her getting stuck at the bottom of the well waiting for the odd villager to notice that she had gone missing, only to find her at the bottom of the well. This had been the regular routine for three years consecutively. The well never worked and Kagome never got home. So obviously she would have to stay and become the village's priestess.

Kagome got up from her place at the edge of a field that the men were working in. She was ready to inform the headmaster of her decision to stay in the village as their priestess.

The headmaster blinked a couple of times, slightly surprised at the confrontation he was having with the young woman by the name of Kagome.

"Are you sure you wish to stay with us?" the man asked. "You made your decision rather quickly."

Kagome simply smiled cocking her head to the left.

"I have nowhere else to go," the priestess began, looking at the headmaster intently. "Since I have nowhere else to go there wasn't much of a choice." Kagome continued to smile as she watched the headmaster contemplate her explanation.

"Well you will always have a place here with us in our village." The headmaster amended with a good-natured smile directed toward the young woman.

Kagome stood and bowed respectfully, thanked the man and walked away from his place of residence.

Rinsuke watched curiously as Kagome ran into a nearby clearing, tears welling in her eyes. He wondered what could be the matter. He made the motion to follow the girl; however he was stopped by an exclamation of pain from one of the fieldworkers. Rinsuke had no choice but to run to the old man. He would find Kagome later; he would have to…in order to settle his own conscience.

Kagome heard a scream from her new home but she kept running. She couldn't handle helping anyone at the moment. She wanted to go back to the twentieth century. Kagome wanted to go back to the century that contained microwave ovens, televisions and her friends; family as well.

_Eri Yuki Ayumi I miss you. Mom Sota I wish you were here. Grampa, Buyou please be there when I get home. I'm trying, I really am! I'll be home just wait for me!_

Kagome fell to her knees. She had made it to the middle of the clearing and began to cry. Her hands came up to her face as tears began to stream down her flushed cheeks. Her body began top shake as she was racked with sobs. Deep strangled breaths could be heard had any one been listening.

Indeed someone had been listening, watching as well. The creature hid itself in the shadows as it watched the girl. It took every detail about her in. It memorized her graceful yet calloused fingers as they covered her slightly puffy cheeks, probably puffy from her tears. It memorized her black hair tied up in the standard priestess fashion. It memorized every conceivable thing about the girl all the way down to the grain of her fingernails.

_Your task is complete now return to me _A voice called out to the creature that was lurking in the shadows. The creature did as it was instructed and it slithered of in the direction of the voice for earlier. As the creature reached the brush it vanished in a bright pink light that had a purple edge. The creature's disappearance went unnoticed by the young priestess and the small village nearby.

_Well done_ the voice from before stated, _Very well done. _The words echoed through the wind. The voice that had said these words's seemed to be of a slight hiss low in octave and appealing to the ear. It continued to lament upon the situation and continued to speak to its own content.

_The script is complete, the stage is set, and now all we need are the players._

Five hours. It had been five hours since Kagome left the village, and she figured that it was about time for her to start heading back. However she couldn't bring herself to get up from the ground. Over the course of her tears she had fallen over onto her side, and now she had no urge to get up. Her eyes were bloodshot and dry from her excessive tears. She had rubbed her eyes to make them hurt less. However this only exacerbated her situation. Finally she had given up and just stayed on the ground her arms in front of her in that same position; untouched by nature and man.

There was a noticeable difference in her appearance though. Her eyes had glazed over and her lips slowly pressed stiffly against each other. Her face had become hard and rigid along with the rest of her body.

Kagome began to come back to the real world. She curled her fingers experimentally and blinked her eyes slowly.

"I guess I should get up now," she whispered to no one in particular, yet she didn't truly manage to follow through with her actions. Yes she had managed to sit up, but that was as far as she had gotten. Kagome couldn't bring herself to get up and walk back to the village.

A warm spring breeze blew through the clearing and it caressed Kagome's sullen face. It tossed her hair to and fro as if to tell her to get a move on.

"Leave me alone," she said aloud, knowing that no one was there to hear her.

Kagome looked around to make sure that her assumption was correct; and it was…for all of ten minutes. Those ten minutes later found Kagome staring into the azure blue eyes of Rinsuke. She could see the worry and the concern, yet she was not able to say anything in order to quell those apparent feelings. The only thing that she did was look at him with a passive expression. This seemed to concern him more.

"Are you okay Kagome?" the man asked her slowly, as if she didn't speak the same language. Kagome merely blinked in response. Rinsuke took action and picked Kagome up in his arms. He expected her to fuss and fight but she just sat still in his grip, letting him continue with his actions.

"Come on; let's get you back to the village."

It didn't take long for Rinsuke to get Kagome to the village. It also did not take long for the Villagers to figure out that their priestess was not well. Her eyes were still void of emotion by the Rinsuke too her to the headmaster's hut.

The head master had tried to elicit an emotional response from the young woman; however it was a futile attempt. Even Rinsuke, who seemed to be the closest to the young woman couldn't get a response from her.

This process of trying to "wake" the priestess lasted for three days consecutively. Three days became dull for everyone as they waited for Kagome to become well again.

Three Days.

Kagome blinked her eyes, regaining her bearings. She looked to left then to right and forward. On her turn forward she met the blue gaze of Rinsuke.

Kagome blinked once more.

"Good morning," he said smiling at Kagome good-naturedly. "It's been a while hasn't it, lady priestess?"

Kagome chuckled lightly. "Hmm," she lamented, "I'll take your word for it mister villager." She cocked her head to the left in a teasing manner, smiling.

A crimson red blush was kind enough to grace Rinsuke's chiseled features.

"You do that a lot don't you?" Kagome asked the man seated in front of her.

"Do what?" he responded obliviously.

"Blush," she deadpanned, and then began to giggle. "Whenever I say something you blush. I didn't say anything bad did right?" Kagome looked to the man for an answer. This seemed to make him blush further.

"Well no it's I um… I've never um talked to a girl as much as you before."

Kagome blinked back in surprise.

"What…but there are a lot of women your age out there right? You've had to have talked to at least one of them..." Kagome stated with a puzzled expression.

"Never in depth…" Rinsuke said.

"Why?" Kagome asked, curious as to why such a handsome man would be shunned by so many young women.

"My eyes," Rinsuke stated pointing to the offending body parts. "They say that they're a bad omen; a possible curse."

"You mean the girls?" Kagome asked becoming increasingly confused with each passing second.

"Well them and the rest of the village. For as long as I can remember I've always been an outsider in this place and every other. My eyes have always scared people. According to the headmaster they scare my mother as well."

Kagome let Rinsuke's situation sink in.

_His mother was afraid of his eyes? I wonder what that could mean. Hmm I guess I'll find out sooner or later or not at all…well whatever. I guess I'll be his friend since his eyes don't bother me too much…though they are kind of odd…_

Kagome looked at Rinsuke with determination and then she spoke.

"Well your eyes don't scare me. I'll be your friend alright?" With a small giggle Kagome smiled at Rinsuke and held out her arms as if to hug him. This action brought a blush to Rinsuke's face once more.

"No I…I couldn't possibly!"

"First thing you need to know about true friends: friends give each other hugs, no questions asked," Kagome stated matter-of-factly. She opened her arms wider. Rinsuke looked conflicted but finally he gave in and moved into her embrace.

The connection didn't last long however. A villager had burst through the curtain of Kagome's hut panting and trying to from coherent sentences.

"Slow down sir, what are you trying to say?" By this time Rinsuke had come out of his embrace with Kagome in order to grasp the shoulders of the man in front of them.

"What happened?" he repeated a few times before the man responded.

"It's Old Man Lee," the man panted out, "The man that came from the continent." He stated as if to clarify who he was talking about when he saw the confusion flash across Rinsuke's face.

"Oh you mean the man that got injured all those days ago? What's happened to him?" Rinsuke asked urgently, seeing the panic in the other mans eyes.

Once again the man began to have trouble forming sentences and breathing. He finally decided to just pull Rinsuke to the old man's home. Kagome thought it best to follow the two of them.

The villager that had Rinsuke's sleeve in a death grip led the two quickly to old man Lee's hut. He was panting even more now. Kagome thought he was about to have a heart attack; however an agonized scream interrupted her musing.

"What's happening in there? Kagome looked to Rinsuke for an answer. He was only able to answer her question with the shrug of his shoulders.

"Well your helpful aren't you?" Kagome sighed and pushed back the screen of old man Lee's home. Almost immediately she was forced to place her hand over her nose. The smell of rotting flesh had accosted her senses. She could almost taste it on her lips. She looked further into the hut, while fighting the urge to vomit everything that she had in her stomach.

As she entered the hut she felt the pressing need to look down. She regretted this decision in its entirety.

Kagome couldn't help herself, she stumbled back and fell o her rear. As she thought over what she had seen she began to hyperventilate. She regretted this action as well. Kagome gagged as the smell of rotting flesh intensified and strained upon her senses.

_Oh gosh…_she thought when she regained some of her composure.

"How exactly was Old Man Lee injured?" Kagome asked not caring which one of the men responded. The man that had escorted them to the old man's home began to speak.

"Old man Lee was working out in the fields, like always, doing the reapin' like always. Then out of the blue he threw his scythe and screamed clawin' at his leg like a mad man. He was bitten by a…" The man was cut off by a loud moan of pain form the injured old man Lee. He waited kindly for Lee to finish before he continued his story. The man began again.

"As I was sayin' Old Man Lee was bitten by a snake, a real big one too. It was all long blue and nasty lookin'. We didn't know if it was poisonous or not and no one was willing to try suckin' on the wound to see if there was any poison. That is except for blues over there, but Old Man Lee refused, said he didn't want a demon child bitin' at his leg. So we did what we could. I myself bandaged 'im up and he looked like he was gonna be okay, until 'bout twenty minutes ago." The villager stopped and looked at Kagome while recaptured his breath.

"What happened twenty minutes ago?" Kagome pressed as she began to un-bandage Old Man Lee's bitten ankle. She cringed as she heard his skin peel off of his marred flesh. Tears began to scream freely from the man's eyes.

Right as the villager was about to finish his story Rinsuke put his hand over Kagome' to stop her from taking off the rest of the bandage. She went to glare at him but the concern in his eyes was too evident for her to ignore. Kagome pit the bandage down and turned around in order to see the villager.

"Continue." Kagome instructed with a forced smile. The man didn't notice Kagome's attitude and continued.

"Well twenty minutes ago he began scratchin' at his bandage while he was groanin' in pain and all. He was speakin' that weird tongue so those of us lookin' after 'im at the time didn't know what he was sayin'. Then outta nowhere he started smellin' like a corpse and all. People started runnin' away; that's when I came to get you, miss, and found you huggin' up on blue eyes."

The villager's last statement made Rinsuke's blush creep up once mare.

_There he goes__ again, _Kagome laughed as she looked at Rinsuke's flushed face. _Well back to the matter at hand._

Kagome's face grew serious once again. She resumed the peeling of the bandage of the marred ankle when once again Rinsuke stopped her. The girl's eyebrow ticked in uncharacteristic aggravation. She glowered at the hand that was stopping her from working. Then she looked to the owner of the hand.

"What's the matter?" she asked him as calmly as possible, given the current situation.

"It's hurting him," Rinsuke replied. Kagome's facial features softened and she placed her other hand over Rinsuke's.

"I know; but if I let the wound fester he'll be in more pain and that'll be worse. I don't want to see him suffer anymore than you do I swear but I need to do this to help him."

Rinsuke hesitated for a moment feeling caught between a rock and a hard place. Then he reluctantly removed his hand from Kagome's.

"Thank you," she said and continued to work. She peeled the bandage as quickly as the squirming man would allow. At one point, Kagome was forced to pin his leg down with her free hand. This caused Old Man Lee to howl with pain and all Kagome could do was keep working as she whispered a sad apology. Kagome finished peeling the man's bandage. His flesh burned once it made contact with the air: Old Man Lee screamed in sheer agony. Kagome winced, muttered an apology and continued with her task.

With the bandage out of the way Kagome was able to asses the true gravity of Old Man Lee's injury.

The young priestess nearly lost the contents of her stomach at the sight presented to her.

Kagome looked at Old Man Lee's ankle and saw an infection unlike any other. The flesh that had been exposed was pulsating with a dull purple hue. With each pulse, the infection seemed to imbed itself further and further into the man's ankle.

Kagome cringed as she found that not only was the infection eating away at the ankle, the infection seemed to spreading up the man's calf. When it reached his knee the pulsing seemed to calm slightly. However, Old Man Lee's whimpers had become full blown wails and now the entire village was trying to get a glimpse of what was happening.

"Get them away from here," Kagome instructed Rinsuke and the previous villager. Rinsuke rose and began herding people back into their places. Kagome turned her attention back to the old man that she was supposed to be helping. The infection had started spreading once mare and Kagome had no idea what to next; she hadn't eaten or really done anything for three days, so she had no where to draw her spiritual power from. With that said there was no way that she could purify the wound. Obviously it was a demonic bite, since nothing else bit to where the skin would glow purple. Kagome stared at the bite a bit longer, having no idea what to do next.

_Well what now?_ She questioned to herself, she wasn't exactly well versed in demon bite first-aid. Kagome decided to treat it as any other snake bite. Just as she was about to call Rinsuke back to get her some water, her sleeve was pulled harshly from behind. She turned around to see Old Man Lee grasping her sleeve like a life line. She put her hand on top of his in order to quell his fear. This was the wrong course of action for the young girl to take.

Old Man Lee took Kagome's hand in his. Kagome thought he was merely re-assuring himself that she still was there. What she failed to notice was that Old Man Lee did no longer inhabit his own body.

The old man's hand began to pull Kagome down toward its body. The girl did her best to get the old man to release his grip, but he wouldn't relent. Kagome began to struggle against him until she started to panic.

_What does he want with me? _She asked herself frantically.

Finally Old Man Lee was able to pull Kagome's face to his own. He brought his dry, cracking lips toward her ear and began to whisper to her. Kagome's eyes widened in fear; not only could she hear the words coming from Old Man Lee's mouth, she could also hear them ringing through out her skull.

_Do not linger in this village my dear, it will only bring you despair. I am certain that you do not wish for more heartbreak to befall you and I am also certain you do not wish to owe your life to anymore demons. Or am I horribly mistaken my dear Kagome?_

Kagome shuddered slightly. The voice she heard had a hypnotic quality to it. She felt compelled to answer its question but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She merely watched as Old Man Lee struggled to regain control over his body. She also watched as the old man failed. Once his eyes closed his wound began to consume him. It crawled steadily up his body and spread itself evenly. Finally the wound consumed the man and he literally dissolved right before Kagome's eyes.

Kagome shuddered.

_Heed my words my love, leave this village or every one will suffer the same fate that you have just witnessed. Leave now._

Kagome shuddered once more as the voice resounded through her skull. She watched as the remains of Old Man Lee slowly congealed and took shape.

_A snake…how…appropriate, _Kagome thought complacently as she got up to head toward her hut in order to retrieve her belongings.

As Kagome pushed the curtain back on Old Man Lee's home the snake slithered past her feet.

Kagome ignored the snake for a moment. For a moment she only stared after it, and then she came to her senses. Her eyes widened as her head cleared and she realized what had just happened. Her hands automatically flew to her face to cover her mouth. Tears began to stream down her face as she replayed what had happened to the old man. As Kagome relived the scene she remembered the words from earlier. With the words flowing back to her Kagome began to sprint toward her hut.

On her way, Kagome ran into the periodically placed villagers. However just as the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, Kagome was unable to stop and apologize. She was only able to throw a generic sorry in their general direction.

As Kagome neared the hut her heart began to pound, partly from her sudden exertion and partly from anticipation. She felt like a walking time bomb. Her mind told her that if she didn't move fast enough, the village would crumble right before her eyes.

Kagome made it to the entrance of her hut and hastily pushed the curtain away. In he hast, the girl failed to notice that Rinsuke had been sitting in the middle of the entrance way. On her way in, Kagome found herself coming into closer contact with the ground than she wanted. Before she could fall completely, Rinsuke managed to catch her.

"Thank you," Kagome said quickly before she began to gather her things frantically. Rinsuke watched in awe as Kagome scurried about like some poor child on a sugar high. Her hands quivered as she picked up her bow. She went to retrieve her quiver just as Rinsuke grabbed onto her wrists.

"What are you doing?" he questioned, a curious glint in his azure blue gaze. Kagome looked at him for a moment before responding in a dead pan tone.

"Leaving."

Rinsuke looked utterly floored.

_Didn't she just decide to stay? _He questioned himself internally. He looked up at her in confusion

"I thought you had decided to stay," he said, voicing his earlier confusion to her.

"I changed my mind," she dead panned once again as she began to walk out of the hut.

"Well wait," Rinsuke called out to her as he followed closely behind. She stopped to look at him. Once Rinsuke saw that he had grabbed her attention he spoke once more.

"I'm going with you," he said sternly looking Kagome directly in the eye.

"No," Kagome replied as she began to walk away. Rinsuke grabbed her by her shoulders and spun her around to face him.

"It wasn't a question," he told her defiantly. Kagome blinked in surprise. Before she had time to truly react, Rinsuke pulled her in the direction of his home. He made the trip a quick one seen as how Kagome was regaining her senses. He had only grabbed some essential and stuffed them into a pack.

Kagome stared back at the blue eyed man in disbelief.

"What?" he asked her.

"You're not coming," she told him once more. Rinsuke rolled his eyes and grabbed Kagome's hand in his, smiling at her.

"You said that we were friends," he began with a mischievous smile. "I happen to know for a fact that not only do friends give hugs, but they also help each other when they're in trouble. You're in trouble, so let me help you." He smiled at her even more. The young priestess sighed and headed for the exit of the village. She didn't stop Rinsuke from following, so he continued after her. Luckily for them the villagers were to busy crowding around the empty hut of Old Man Lee/ Rinsuke chuckled at their amazing, yet slightly gruesome, stroke of luck. He began to lag behind.

"Hurry up," Kagome called to him over her shoulder. He nodded picking up hi pace in order to catch up. Soon the two were walking I perfect step with each other.

"So where are we going?" Rinsuke asked her. He gained no response form the girl. Rinsuke took this as his cue and kept his mouth shut as they continued forward.

_Good,__ my love, good. Leaving is the best choice for you my dear. However bringing that man with you may not have been the best decision for you to make, though I won't fault you for it. _Evil laughter began to resound through Kagome's voice from earlier had invaded Kagome's mind once more and She did her best not to respond. The young priestess looked to Rinsuke and pointed her arm to the left.

"Let's head that way," she instructed him.

"You're the boss," he said with a slight chuckle and a shrug of his shoulders. With that, both of them set of in direction of the setting sun. The village became smaller and smaller until in was nearly invisible to the both of them. They left thoughts of the village behind them as they searched for a path to follow.

_And so it begins, my dear Kagome, and so it begins._

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(A/N) Hooray I have finished this chapter without killing the creator of Word. Ugh this took too much effort to complete/edit and I still have X amount of chapters to type up. Oh well I've already started so I'll do my best to finish. This chapter is kind of long and detailed so if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them (as long as they don't spoil what's to come XD). Alright that's it for now. Please review and I shall meet you all in the next chapter. Tah-tah for now!

~shastar27


	7. Chapter 7

(A/N) Hallo again! 'Tis me, shastar27 presenting you with another installment of this fic. Special thanks go out to all of you that reviewed favorited and alerted this story. It makes me happy to know that you like this so I'll continue to post as much fast as I can. Now that it's summer I'll have more time to work on it so we'll see how well that goes. Also this chapter is a little shorter than the last one (^-^U) sorry. I write fic this down in journals before I type it up and I was getting tired and I kept nodding of so I kind of wrapped it up fast and went to bed.

Read and Review and let me know what you think please!

Now, shall we move onto the fic?

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Chapter six: Two Peas in a Pod

Rinsuke gave an exaggerated sigh. He and Kagome had been traveling for two days non-stop. The young priestess refused to slow down in her impromptu escape from the village. The man did best to keep up, but by the end of the second day he found himself lagging behind.

"Miss Kagome, do you think that we could possibly take a small break now. We've been walking for days and though I commend your…um…_determination,_ I think in would behoove the both of us to take a rest and regain our energy."

Rinsuke received no verbal reply from the young priestess. Instead she quickened her pace to spite the man behind her. Rinsuke sighed in exasperation once again, and did his best to keep pace with Kagome. However even with his expended effort he began to lose sight of her.

"Hey slow down!" he yelled, starting to run after Kagome. The girl stopped turned around with a devious smile. She held up to fingers in the gesture of the peace sign just before she turned back around in order to bolt. As she ran away her childish laughter could be heard around Rinsuke. The blue eyed man shook his head and ran after her.

The both of them ran for a while longer; Kagome keeping the lead. Rinsuke continually quickened his pace, but finally lost sight of her over an upcoming hill.

"I'll meet her at the bottom." he told himself aloud as he slowed down. Once he reached the top, he began to look for Kagome. He turned his head to the left, then to the right. His first sweep of the area revealed nothing of Kagome's whereabouts. However as he neared the bottom, Rinsuke found his prey.

Kagome was paralyzed behind a rather large tree at the bottom of the hill. Rinsuke raised an eyebrow in question at the girl's action. As he made it to the bottom he made his way over to the young priestess. Once Rinsuke was behind Kagome, he put a hand on her shoulder. The girl jumped in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Rinsuke asked her. Kagome turned her head to look at him.

"I'm fine…just had a sense of déjà vu." she responded nervously. Rinsuke was wary of Kagome's answer, but he decided not to force the issue. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the nearby clearing.

"Come on," he instructed Kagome. "Let's find a place to camp out."

Kagome just nodded her head and let Rinsuke pull her off into the distance.

Rinsuke was lying on his side as he watched Kagome comb out her hair. He watched as Kagome took the time to part her hair and comb out one side then the other. Once she was done with her hair Rinsuke decided to ask her a question that had been on his mind since the earlier incident.

"Hey Kagome." He said to get her attention. Kagome turned to look at him. She found his azure blue gaze to be a somewhat captivating.

"What happened earlier, when seized up behind that tree?"

"Oh…um…well, I was thinking about someone and I thought I saw someone that looked like them, just bigger…" she paused to look at Rinsuke again.

"Oh…well I though you looked slightly shaken…I was just wondering if you were okay," he mused aloud. Rinsuke decided to try to gain more information since the girl was talking already.

"Who's the person that you were thinking about?" he asked her.

"His name is Shippo," Kagome answered with a throw away gesture of her hand. Rinsuke read her gesture as a sign of not wanting to continue the conversation. The man stopped hid quest for answers, doing his best not to pry.

There was an awkward silence between the two traveling companions. Kagome didn't feel like talking any longer, and Rinsuke had thrown away the questions that he wanted to ask. After a moment longer the two both decided to rest for the night. Kagome laid down on a blanket that she had packed while Rinsuke shifted on his own. They both said their good nights and drifted off to sleep.

Rinsuke was the first one to drift into complete unconsciousness. However, Kagome was not as lucky. Every time she closed her eyes she saw her old companions waving for her to catch up. She could see Shippo playing with Kirara while Sango and Miroku argued about the logic of asking several women to bear the monk's children. The worst part was that she could see Inuyasha. Granted he was crushing Myouga the flea into the ground with the heel of his foot, but just seeing him made Kagome remember all of her painful memories involving the half demon.

Kagome opened her eyes in pain. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep that night, she got up from her blanket and grabbed a towel that Rinsuke had grabbed for her out his hut.

Kagome made her way to a nearby stream and she began to undress. The girl took off her white shirt, and then she removed her red pants. Once she removed the sufficient amount of clothing she stepped into the cool water. Kagome sank into the stream feeling a chill run through her body.

_Oh this feels so nice, though it might be a little more relaxing if it was a hot spring…_ Kagome thought to herself as she sank further into the water. She let the cool water run over the various aches and pains that her body had. In walking nonstop for two days her muscles had become sore and stiff. She wondered absently if she had overdone it in her frantic escape from the village. She also wondered if Rinsuke was feeling just as sore as she was. These thoughts didn't stay on her mind for long though. Soon her thought process changed to the events of earlier in the day. She reviewed the image that had run passed her eyes in front of the tree that she had been positioned behind.

_It really did look like Shippo, but he was a little to tall to be…well it's been__ four years, I guess he would have grown up by now…he was just so small when I met him though…maybe he hit a growth spurt…_

Kagome ran over a multitude of outcomes in her mind.

_Get a grip Kagome there are other fox demons out there…that probably wasn't even him!_ She continued to her mind wander as the stream current ran over her.

Kagome sighed and decided to head back to her makeshift camp with Rinsuke. She got up from the stream and wrapped the towel around her body, beginning to dry off.

Kagome had begun to pick up her clothes in order to get dressed, when she heard a loud thud near the campsite, causing the girl to drop her clothes. Rinsuke raised his voice at another entity and Kagome became concerned. She forwent getting dressed in favor of wrapping the towel closer to her body. Kagome then began to make her way back to Rinsuke to see what the commotion was about. As she ran she drew her towel in closer in order to avoid a potentially awkward situation.

"Not a very light sleeper, are you?" Kagome heard someone say in the distance. She didn't recognize the voice so she picked up her pace once again.

After what seemed like seemed like an eternity Kagome made it to the campsite to see a rather interesting sight.

Kagome couldn't help herself; she lowered herself carefully to the ground and began to laugh. She saw Rinsuke pinning an orange haired teen with pointed ears to the ground with his body. The teen was lying under Rinsuke, his stomach to the ground and his back was being thoroughly crushed by Rinsuke's body weight. The orange haired intruder looked rather perturbed and Rinsuke looked slightly murderous. Kagome laughed even harder at the implications that could be taken from her friend's current situation.

"Maybe I should leave you two love birds alone," the priestess said in between fits of laughter.

Both Rinsuke and the orange haired teen whipped their heads around in order to see Kagome. At the sight of the young woman the teenager with orange hair began to struggle to get out from under Rinsuke.

"Get off of me! Get off of me!" he yelled at Rinsuke. In response Rinsuke sat harder on the poor boy. The stranger began to struggle even harder. Kagome was only able to laugh in morbid fascination.

"Come on man, get off of me!"

Rinsuke only glared in response. The orange haired boy looked to Kagome for assistance. Kagome giggled even more before getting up to tap Rinsuke on the shoulder. As Rinsuke turned to look at Kagome his catch slipped out from under him, causing him to land on the ground with a slight thump.

The orange haired teen looked at Kagome and smiled. Kagome smiled back as the boy lunged at her with widespread arms. Rinsuke's eyes widened in concern as the teen latched onto Kagome. They both fell to the ground laughing and hugging each other, all with Kagome keeping her towel in place. After a bit, their laughter died down and the orange haired teen began to speak to the towel bearing priestess.

"Wow Kagome, I haven't seen you in forever. It's so good to see you!"

Rinsuke's jaw dropped when Kagome went to respond.

"It's good to see you too Shippo, gosh it has been like forever hasn't it?"

Rinsuke decided it was time for him to get some information so he broke into the happy reunion of the two friends.

"Excuse me Kagome," Rinsuke began. He waited until Kagome was facing him before he continued. Once he had her attention he began again.

"Uh Kagome, you know this demon?"

Kagome looked at Rinsuke with a broad smile as she answered him.

"Yeah! This is Shippo!" she exclaimed as she gestured to the orange haired demon in question.

"I met him when I got stuck in this era." Kagome smiled at Rinsuke again. The blue eyed man looked at Kagome in confusion.

"Era?" he questioned her quietly with his eyebrows furrowing as time passed.

"Oops," Kagome said outing her hands in front of her mouth in a muzzling motion.

"Oh no do continue," Rinsuke said with a slight edge to his voice. He crouched next to Kagome and Shippo, waiting for them to elaborate.

"Well it's kind of a long story…right Kagome?" Shippo asked while Kagome stared at Rinsuke cautiously. Kagome then nodded her head in response to Shippo's evasive question.

"Well I'm sure we've got plenty of times since none of us seem to have any other pressing engagements," Rinsuke amended sneering at Shippo.

Kagome looked between her to friends, deciding that it would be easier to explain every thing to Rinsuke.

"Well then, I guess you should get comfortable, you're in for a long…ride." With this statement Kagome began her tale.

Rinsuke blinked a couple of times and shook his head for good measure. Kagome was right; her story had been long, and rather unbelievable in Rinsuke's opinion.

Kagome could see the disbelief in Rinsuke's features, but she was unable to say anything that would justify her claims, or make her tale seem any more believable. In all honesty, she barely believed it herself. Her only proof had been Inuyasha's role in all of the madness the she called her life. However, she didn't feel like seeking him out just to prove her point.

An awkward silence hovered in the air around the three people. Kagome began to twiddle her thumbs as she waited for Rinsuke to reply to her. When no reply came she made the motion to get up in order to retrieve her clothes form the stream. In her haste to get back to Rinsuke, she had forgotten to pick up her clothes.

As Kagome walked, she turned around to see both Rinsuke and Shippo following. She turned around and instructed them to head back because she wanted to get dressed in peace. They both complied only to resume glaring at each other. Kagome sighed and continued her trek to the stream.

At the stream Kagome began to get dressed. She did so slowly, prolonging her time away from both Rinsuke and Shippo. Yes, she was very happy to see Shippo, however he brought back a lot of memories that she didn't feel like facing.

_You can't blame that on Shippo though! _She reprimanded herself.

Shippo was not the only reason why she didn't want to go back to camp too soon. She was slightly upset that Rinsuke was not treating Shippo well. The young priestess was also slight perturbed by the fact that Rinsuke didn't believe her story. Yes she found it unbelievable herself but she thought that Rinsuke would trust her enough to know that she would never lie to him.

Kagome sighed and continued getting dressed. As she put on her white shirt she heard bickering in the distance. The young woman rolled eyes as she shrugged on the rest of her outfit.

_There they go again…_she thought dejectedly. Kagome began to walk back to camp in order to get some sleep. She figured that it was about one in the morning, but with no watch or alarm clock she couldn't be sure. All she knew was that she was tired and ready to get some sleep. She would deal with Rinsuke and Shippo later.

"She was my friend first!" Kagome heard Shippo yell in the distance.

_Or I can deal with them now._ Kagome sighed internally.

Kagome walked into the camping site to find Shippo and Rinsuke literally at each others throats. Rinsuke had Shippo's neck in a death grip and Shippo was clawing at Rinsuke's chest. Kagome settled for glaring at the two of them until they noticed her.

Shippo was the first to react. He saw her expression and immediately stopped his end of the altercation with Rinsuke. The other saw the other's change in attitude and posture. He turned his head in the direction of Shippo's gaze and saw Kagome's fuming stare. Rinsuke dropped Shippo and turned the rest of his body to face the priestess.

Satisfied Kagome walked back to her sleeping place and settled down. She watched as Rinsuke and Shippo stumbled over each other as they tried to get to their respective sleeping areas. Rinsuke made it to his blanket and Shippo took to a nearby tree. He was still small for his age so he was able to get comfortable on one of the lower set branches.

With both Rinsuke and Shippo asleep, Kagome closed her eyes and drifted into unconsciousness.

Kagome awoke with a start. Her heart was pounding and her breaths were coming in short bursts. She began to hyperventilate, but before she could suffocate herself, both Rinsuke and Shippo were behind her rubbing her back.

Once Kagome was calmed down, Rinsuke decided to voice his concern.

"What happened, Kagome?"

Shippo glared at Rinsuke while Kagome began to shake her head.

"It's nothing I'll…I'll tell you later."

Kagome pushed herself up from the ground effectively removing the comforting hands that had been placed on her back. She walked over to her bag and began to pack all of the little odds and ends that she left out over night. Once she completed this task, Kagome walked over to her blanket and began to fold it. With the blanket folded and put away, the young priestess began to tie her hair up with her white ribbon.

During Kagome's packing, Rinsuke had taken his cue and he had begun to pack as well. Since Shippo had nothing to pack he just watched Rinsuke and Kagome go about their business.

With both Rinsuke and Kagome packed, the young woman decided that it was time to get a move on. She started to walk out of their campsite, not waiting for Rinsuke or Shippo to follow. That didn't matter though; both Rinsuke and Shippo fell into step with Kagome seamlessly.

The group walked for a while with little interruption. They traveled in a comfortable silence, until Shippo began to grow curios. He wanted to ask Kagome about her dream, nightmare really, but since she hadn't brought it up he decided that it would be better for him to ask a slightly less intrusive question.

"Um…Kagome?" he asked, grabbing Kagome's attention. She hummed in reply gesturing for him to continue; continue he did.

"Well, I was wondering, where exactly are you trying to go Kagome?"

This question stopped Kagome in her tracks. Rinsuke hadn't been paying attention, so due to Kagome's abrupt stop; he managed to run into her. Kagome barely took notice.

"I don't really know…" she trailed off trying to answer Shippo's question. "I guess I've kind of been going on autopilot, sort of like someone's been telling me where to go…"

Kagome watched as Shippo contemplated her words. He seemed slightly confused. Shippo looked to Rinsuke then he looked back at Kagome.

"I'll be right back," he told Kagome more so than Rinsuke; with that he was off running into the distance.

Now it was Kagome's turn to be confused. She looked to where Shippo had run off then she looked at Rinsuke. She looked at him with a look of question in her eyes. Those eyes seemed to say _well what was that about?_ Before Rinsuke could supply an answer, Shippo returned and he has grinning from ear to ear.

"Good news," Shippo said directing a smile into Kagome's field of vision. "I found a village about a days walk from here. I bet they would let stay there for a while."

Kagome smiled at Shippo's efforts to help. Truly, she would be happy to rest in hut instead of lying on the ground. She didn't mind camping, however given the choice she would pick the hut over sleeping in the great outdoors.

"Shall we go?" Shippo asked, gesturing in the general direction of the village. Both Kagome and Rinsuke nodded. However, Rinsuke seemed slightly apprehensive. Kagome saw the hesitation in hid expression.

"What's the matter, Rinsuke?"

Rinsuke shook his head, brushing Kagome's question off. He gestured for Shippo to lead the small group toward the nearby village. Shippo took his cue and began to walk in front of Kagome and Rinsuke.

AS they walked forward, Kagome lagged behind in order to observe Rinsuke. He seemed rigid to her, almost edgy. Kagome decided to question him once they got to village. In the mean time she decided to drop the issue in order to keep some semblance of peace within her little group.

Kagome let her thoughts wander. Her thoughts strayed to memories of her first time in the feudal era. She let her thoughts stay on her memories as Rinsuke and Shippo walked ahead.

The group traveled with Shippo leading the way. They traveled until the reached the edge of the village. Kagome saw Rinsuke hesitate once more before he entered the gate. Kagome followed closely behind, watching the man with azure blue eyes and the adolescent fox demon as they searched the inhabitants of the village.

None were found.

Rinsuke and Shippo looked at each other with questioning gazes. They both found it rather odd that the entire village was empty; however Kagome had no qualms about using their homes while they were out.

"We can rest here for a bit, and then we'll start going again," Kagome stated to Rinsuke and Shippo. The two only nodded in response. They listened to Kagome's next orders telling them to get ready to sleep. After a time the group settled down and drifted into to a forced state of sleep. They all silently decided to deal with the missing villagers later.

* * *

W00T! Another chapter done and typed/edited! Go me! Once again I say thank you to those of you that have: favorited, reviewed, and alerted this story. I really do appreciate your support so much and it helps me get the story written faster.

Please review and I will see you in the next chapter X3

Read and Review please X3

~shastar27


	8. Chapter 8

(A/N): Hello people that have been waiting for this update. I have a bunch of excuses as to why I haven't updated quickly but I know you don't want to hear them so I'll just post the chapter instead.

Froward March ;)

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Chapter seven: And in the Case of a Demon Prince...

Sesshomaru sighed inwardly as he watched Rin bandage his previous opponent. He watched as she lightly tightened the bandage on the weaker demon's left forearm. The young girl finished her patch job on the demon and sent him off to recover for the rest of the day.

Once Rin was finished cleaning up her first aid supplies she looked forward toward Sesshomaru. He looked back, waiting for her to make a comment that he knew was inevitable. Fortunately he didn't have to wait long.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin questioned. He looked at her and motioned for her to continue.

"Is something bothering you?"

Sesshomaru cocked an eyebrow in query.

"Elaborate," he instructed her.

Rin put a hand on her chin, figuring how to rephrase her words. After a moment of careful consideration the asked her question again.

"Is there something on your mind that is making you seem more upset than usual?"

Sesshomaru stared at Rin for a moment. "…More upset than usual," had caught him off guard, though he made no outward display of this fact. Instead he chose to answer Rin's question.

"They have receded once more…" Sesshomaru mused in answer.

Rin looked slightly confused, before deciding to voice her aforementioned confusion.

"Who are they and why have they receded, my lord?" she asked slowly, though she was four years older her vocabulary had not truly grown over that period of time.

Sesshomaru looked upon the girl, deciding to answer her question in one go. He then began.

"The lower level demons that usually roam around this area have retreated into their hiding places. A demon with influence, not unlike that of Naraku's, has surfaced once more. The weaker demons that are easily swayed to do one's biding have gone into hiding; those who stayed out will most likely be used in the sinister plans of this demon."

Sesshomaru finished his explanation with a slight huff. He watched as Rin's eyes began to glaze over. Apparently she had gotten lost somewhere in his response to her question.

"Oh…okay then, I'm going to go look for master Jaken."

With that brief dismissal, Rin skipped out of the dojo and into one the many gardens of Sesshomaru's household.

Sesshomaru shook his head in mock irritation as he rose from his seated position on the bamboo floor of the dojo. As he walked out of the dojo, the demon prince rolled his shoulder. Although he was used to having one arm, it had become rather taxing for him to duel without that other important limb. It wasn't hard for him to function efficiently; it was just…aggravating to do so. However he had only himself to blame for his situation though. Even if Inuyasha had cut off his arm; it was his own fault for letting the insolent half-demon get close enough to do so.

Sesshomaru rolled his shoulder once more as he walked out of the dojo. He left the sliding door open; a servant would be by later to remove the bloodstains from the walls and floors.

The demon prince walked the stone path that was laid down throughout the estate. He followed it to his chosen destination; a hot spring on the edge of the south quarter of his property.

Sesshomaru watched the steam that billowed up from the hot spring. As he watched Sesshomaru unhitched Tenseiga and Tokijin from his waist line. Leaving his pants on, he stepped into the water.

The demon slipped slowly into the hot water, letting the water roll over his muscles, working out the minor kinks that he had acquired over the past week. Being in his father's castle had been even more dull and mundane than he remembered.

Sesshomaru remembered roaming the halls as a child, marveling at all of the servants that it took to keep the rooms in order. He never showed it but when he was younger he thought of Inutaisho's home as a marvelous place. His father always partook in important business, with many guests filling the previously unoccupied rooms. The inner workings of Inutaisho's castle had always amazed the young demon heir…that is until he began to grow older and slightly more mature. Sesshomaru had begun to question his father's methods. This soon led to Sesshomaru's disliking of everything that that involved the house of Inutaisho. The young prince soon began to question every aspect of the way his father lived. He had always been told by his mother that his father was a questionable being. She never failed to tell him that though his father was strong physically, emotionally he was weak and pathetic. However, even though Sesshomaru questioned his father, he had refused to believe that he was weak by any standards.

This changed when Sesshomaru turned 17 in human years. One day Sesshomaru had been walking the grounds in utter boredom. He had decided to challenge his father to a sparing match in one of their many dojos; however the demon was nowhere to be found. Sesshomaru didn't worry though; his father was fond of going on random excursions. The young prince chose to just wait until his father returned home.

Sesshomaru had waited for half the day thinking of random subjects, nothing in particular. Finally he smelled his father's scent coming from the distance, however, something was…off.

Sesshomaru watched as his father came into view, a scowl upon his face. It hadn't taken him long to figure out what was _off. _His father had done the unthinkable.

_He has taken a human as a mate,_ Sesshomaru lamented to himself. That was when he had begun to loathe everything about his father, and his home. He had put some much faith into the demon lord of the western lands; he had done his best to convince his mother that she was wrong in assuming that the demon was weak in any capacity.

In the end his mother was right and Sesshomaru's childhood idolization of his father had come to an abrupt end. Shortly there after Sesshomaru found ways to leave his home for extended periods of time. Because of this he had come home to many surprises, the worst one being the news of his soon to be younger brother. This had pushed Sesshomaru over the edge. He lashed out at his father, demanding that he step down from his place as lord of the western lands. Inutaisho just scoffed at his son and went about his daily business.

On the day that Sesshomaru's father died, Sesshomaru left his father's castle. If he wasn't allowed to rule, then he would leave the house in the care of the many servants that he had admired as a child.

Sesshomaru had left Inutaisho's castle with no attachment, doing his best to forget the birth of his younger brother, Inuyasha.

The demon prince sighed and slipped further into the hot spring. Being back home had caused many of his forgotten memories to resurface. Many of these memories involved trials and feelings about his younger brother. Though he did not hate him, Sesshomaru did not like to be associated with the demon. In truth, he blamed him for the death of their father.

The demon prince lamented for a while longer, feeling no need to leave the hot spring at any point in the near future. He rather enjoyed the healing effects of the warm water.

Sesshomaru continued to let the water soak into his skin, until he was interrupted. He watched as Jaken came into view, stumbling as he ran. As Jaken came closer Sesshomaru saw the urgency of his pace.

_I wonder what has happened now__… _

Sesshomaru waited for Jaken to reach his place at the hot spring. He sat up and gestured for the imp to relay the message that he had been sent to deliver. Jaken took his cue and began to speak.

"Milord, your presence has been requested in the war hall. Some urgent matters have come up and your leadership and experience in desperately needed."

Sesshomaru sighed and got up from the spring. He glared at Jaken for having the audacity to ruin his time for relaxation. The imp bowed in apology and began to run in front of his lord, showing him the fastest way to the war hall. Sesshomaru ignored his assistance and headed toward his chambers.

"But milord the war hall is this way!" Jaken protested, gesturing in the direction of the war hall.

"I am wet Jaken," was Sesshomaru's reply as he reached for the door to the south wing of Inutaisho's castle. Jaken bowed once more and scurried off in the direction that he had come from.

Sesshomaru walked through the halls of the south wing. Servants followed closely behind, mopping up the wet spots that he left on the floor. He ignored them as he surveyed the halls. He gazed up at the crown molding. Indigo half moons lined the strips of wood. Black stars had been sporadically between these moons.

Sesshomaru sighed as he pulled the door to his room aside. The demon removed his wet clothing, changing into a simple, plain white robe. He pulled the drawstring in order to close the robe around his person. He then placed his right on his hip and began to make his way to the war hall.

…

Upon his entry, Sesshomaru witnessed the gathering of his father's, now his, advisors. He hadn't taken the time to remember their names only their positions on his small council. Whatever topic they had been discussing dissolved as Sesshomaru walked in. They all bowed to him as he made his way to take a seat.

Once Sesshomaru was seated upon his cushion of choice, he motioned for the rest of the council members to do the same. When they were all seated the meeting began. A demon by the name of Daiki was the first to speak. He stood, making his billowy brown shirt shift to accommodate his new stance. Before he spoke he made sure that his black pants were correctly tucked into his equally jet black boots. Daiki soon finished his nervous preparations and began to explain the need for Sesshomaru's presence in the war hall.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I have some troubling news from a nearby village."

Sesshomaru nodded his head, signaling for Daiki to continue.

"My lord, three days ago there was a demonic attack on the village I made mention to earlier. All of its inhabitants were abducted, possibly slaughtered. Blood was spilt, however, oddly enough; there was no sign of struggle. I couldn't find anyone left around the village and the demonic energy that was left behind was…" Daiki paused trying to find a suitable way to say what he was trying to. He cocked his head to the side while tapping his left temple with a curled middle finger; a habit of his.

Sesshomaru squinted as he watched Daiki contemplate his next sentence. The demon prince decided to finish it for him.

"The demonic energy that was left behind was overbearing and unidentifiable."

Daiki's eyes widened at his lord's words.

"Uh…yes, how did you…?"

"A demonic aura passed through earlier. It caused many of the lower level demons to seek shelter." Sesshomaru waved his hand telling Daiki that he needn't say anymore.

Daiki took his cue and sat down, his cropped teal hair shifting about his tanned face. He put a hand over his pitch black eyes, sighing.

Sesshomaru ignored Daiki and looked to the other advisors. One by the name of Rio began to speak, deciding to elaborate on the subject of the lower level demons.

"That is another matter that we should discuss," he stated blatantly looking at his lord with ice blue eyes. He ran his left hand through his flowing hair that matched his eyes in color, waiting for Sesshomaru to tell him to finish. The demon prince instructed him to do so.

"With the demons in hiding I have little means of getting information about the state of the west, unless I walk around the entire region. I find that to be something that I would rather not partake in." Rio looked pointedly at Sesshomaru. He had no qualms about irritating his demon lord; in fact, he often made a game of it. He only pushed him far enough to gain a slight tick of Sesshomaru's eyebrow, but that was enough for Rio. It was much more fun for Rio to poke fun at Sesshomaru as opposed to poking fun at his father Inutaisho. Inutaisho had a way of laughing off Rio's queen of Sheba behavior. Sesshomaru usually gave a more interesting reaction and that was why Rio continually tested his lord's patience.

Sesshomaru glared at Rio with a perturbed expression gracing his face.

_Why did father appoint this demon to the council? He is the most annoying and whinny creature_ _that I have seen in all my years. Must he insist upon wearing only his pants and a sword at his hip? He doesn't even take the time to do more with his appearance other than to put his hair in a pony tail always leaving that one strand in front of his eye…I could find some other demon to do his job, right? It wouldn't be too hard to find a nosy demon; good at invading one's privacy would it?_

Sesshomaru sighed, putting his only hand to his face.

"Well what do you suppose I should do in order to spare your delicate feet," he said condescendingly toward Rio. Rio rolled his eyes and smirked at his lord.

"Well, my lord, I think that my job entails me gaining information from the roaming demons; am I correct, or have I been doing my job incorrectly for the past millennia?"

Sesshomaru's glare grew in power, Rio just chuckled and continued.

"Perhaps you should tell me what you intend to do in order to get the demons back out into the open, _Lord Sesshomaru._" Rio resumed his chuckles as he watched Sesshomaru begin to seethe. He knew he was pressing his luck, but it was too much fun not to try to anger Sesshomaru further.

The demon prince glowered at Rio, figuring the best way to behead the demonic advisor. Sesshomaru made a motion to stand but he was stopped when another advisor began to speak.

"Perhaps we should simply remove the cause. The symptom will be cured and life will resume its usual monotony.

Gakuto raised his purple eyebrows at the other demons around the table. He removed his purple bangs from his face in order to get a better view. He saw that that no one was paying him too much attention at that moment in time, so he took the time to adjust his kimono. It was a simple gray kimono that fit loosely around his chest, with an equally simple yellow sash around his waist. In the sash he carried his swords, which varied from day to day.

Sesshomaru looked at Gakuto, while Daiki smiled broadly at their fellow advisor.

"So you wish for me to kill this demon that has arisen?" Sesshomaru looked at Gakuto inquisitively.

"Possibly so, if that is the only way to eliminate the problem that has surfaced."

Sesshomaru sighed and put his hand to his face. He looked Daiki in order to ask him the location of the demon.

"It is believed to be outside of the village now, my lord."

Daiki shifted in his seat as his lord sat in his seat. He twiddled his thumbs as his lord sighed once more.

"Is there anything else that you three wish to inform me of?"

Sesshomaru's advisors looked at each other as if to make sure that no one had anything else to say. Soon they came to a silent agreement. Gakuto and Daiki looked at Rio whom was now smirking.

"We have nothing more to say to you, _you're Highness._" Rio stood from his seat and bowed to the dog demon prince condescendingly. Gakuto and Daiki followed suit and bowed as well, however they bowed in order to show their utmost respect for their lord.

"We leave tomorrow morning," Sesshomaru stated as the three walked out of the doors that lead into the war hall. His statement made Rio stop and turn around to face him.

"_We _leave for _where_ tomorrow morning my lord?"

Sesshomaru got up from his seat, walked over to Rio, and put his hand on the demon's shoulder.

"The village with the missing inhabitants…or did you forget Rio?"

Sesshomaru observed the fleeting color from Rio's face with a rare triumphant smirk. He removed his hand as he stepped past Gakuto and Daiki, heading to Rin's room.

"Be ready when I send for you, all of you." With that Sesshomaru left to speak with Rin.

Rio, Daiki and Gakuto gave a collective sigh of relief. Thankful glances were exchanged between the three. Daiki was the first to speak.

"Rio, you are a lucky demon. When lord Sesshomaru smiled at you I thought you were a goner."

"You're not the only one," Rio replied, gently fingering the place where Sesshomaru's hand had been.

"I suppose it would be wise for us to prepare for tomorrows excursion," Gakuto advised his two companions. Daiki and Rio agreed and followed Gakuto down the corridor to their chambers.

…

Rin looked up at Sesshomaru with worry filled eyes.

"Will you be alright Lord Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru nodded. Rin tried to protest but he put his hand on her head to calm her fears. Rin gave up and sighed.

"Just come back safe okay, lord Sesshomaru? I'd be lost without you."

Sesshomaru's eyes widened just slightly. He didn't really dabble in the world of human emotion. They had always been too involved and complex for him to understand. The demon had no idea of how to respond. Rin still looked deep into Sesshomaru's amber eyes.

During Sesshomaru's stupor, Jaken had decided to speak up.

"Rin! How dare you have such little faith in Lord Sessomaru! You should be ashamed of yourself child!"

Five seconds later found Jaken executing a magnificent face-plant into the bamboo floors of Rin's room.

"Be silent, Jaken," Sesshomaru commanded. Jaken's response could only be heard by the floor boards. Sesshomaru turned toward Rin.

"Thank you for your concern, Rin, but I will be fine."

"Do you promise lord Sessomaru?" Rin asked with small tears brimming in her eyes. Sesshomaru's eyes softened.

"I promise. Now it's time for you to get some rest Rin."

Rin yawned and nodded her head. She laid down on her futon and Sesshomaru pulled the covers over her. Before he left, Sesshomaru ran a finger over her slightly red tinged cheek.

"Sleep soundly, Rin," Sesshomaru whispered as she nodded off to sleep. A small hum was given in response. Sesshomaru got up form his place beside her. The demon made his was to the door.

"Come, Jaken," Sesshomaru commanded the imp. Jaken scurried forward in order to catch up. The demon prince made his way through the corridors to his chambers and ordered Jaken to prepare his armor.

As Jaken left to complete his task, Sesshomaru sat down and tried to relax. While he sat, his mind wandered to the task the next day would bring.

_I will have to be on my guard tomorrow. I suppose it will work out the way it will. For now I shall get the rest that I require._

Sesshomaru pulled the string on his robe and traded it for his now dry pants. Next he pulled his futon out and settled down, pulling a blanket over himself. Slowly Sesshomaru drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

(A/N): Thank you for taking the time to read this fic. I really enjoy feedback. It helps me improve. If you enjoy what I write please let me know so I can continue to do so. Anyway please Review and I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible.

Thank you all for your continued support. :3

Also to **Shadow Kitsune67:** As to why the well is closed…all in due time my dear reader all in due time…Thank you for reviewing 8D

To all who have reviewed I thank you sincerely, once again if you have any questions I'll be glad to answer them as long as they don't include me handing out spoilers of course ;D

~shastar27


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N) **Look who decided to get their lazy bones in gear =.= Ugh, I can't believe how long it's been since my last update…please excuse my laziness. Updates should be coming more frequently now depending on how my schedule works out.

Thank you for all your continued support and I hope this chapter meets up to expectations.

Please enjoy!

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Chapter eight: A Confrontation

Kagome stretched as she tried to wake herself up. It had been a long uneventful night for her and her rag tag group. Rinsuke had been on edge and had gotten hardly any sleep. Shippo twitched in his sleep managing to constantly kick Kagome, making it nearly impossible for her to get to sleep properly. In the end Kagome was kept awake by frequent kicks from Shippo and constant questions from Rinsuke.

Rinsuke had asked many pointless questions, so Kagome managed to tune them out of her memory. However there was one question that Kagome had not been able to avoid.

"So tell me Kagome, what was the dream about that you had the other night?" Rinsuke had looked pointedly at Kagome waiting for her to respond.

The young priestess had stared at Rinsuke for a moment before realizing what he was asking about. She sighed and turned away from him before she began to answer his question.

"Well it was really fuzzy so don't expect too many details, okay?" Rinsuke had nodded waiting for her to continue.

"I was back in the 20th century with my family, mom Sota and grandpa. We were all sitting somewhere, I don't remember where but here was a lot of green, so I guess it was a park or something. Anyway as we were sitting there the ground started to shake making us fall. When we fell the ground shattered leaving behind a white area that went on forever. We fell for a while but then I heard a scream. It was my mom she started to bleed from her mouth and eyes. I tried to help her but then everything went black."

Kagome had taken a break, visibly shaken. Rinsuke moved close to her in order to hold and calm her down.

"Was there more?" he had pressed on, curious as to what had Kagome so spooked. Kagome nodded taking in a large breath in order to continue.

"It didn't stay black for too long. Soon I was in a room with only for bamboo walls. My mom was right in front of me bound and gagged; I don't know here grandpa and Sota were. I tried to get to her but something held me back. It was a tail, I think. I had to watch as my mother bled to death…Then there was a voice that called me 'Love' like it knew me. I was crying by this point. Before I could ask what was going on I woke up…"

Kagome trailed off into in erratic sobs. Rinsuke had then proceeded to hold the young women for the rest of the night until she had fallen asleep.

Kagome came out her reverie as Shippo awoke with a wide mouthed yawn.

"Good morning Kagome!" he exclaimed with a chipper smile upon how face. Kagome smiled backing acknowledgement and returned his good morning. The two then looked to Rinsuke only that he was no longer seated in his original place.

"Where's Rinsuke?" Kagome asked. Shippo only shrugged in response.

"Well, then I'll go look for him." The girl said, a tone of worry laced within her words. Shippo hopped up from his place on the ground.

"I'll come too, even though I think you're better off without this guy."

Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes as she pulled Shippo out of the hut. Once they were out of the hut, she immediately began to call out Rinsuke's name. After a minute she saw Rinsuke coming into view just on the outskirts of town. As he came closer into view Kagome could see a scowl set upon his normally carefree face.

"What's wrong with him?" Kagome questioned to no one in particular. However, Shippo took it upon himself to respond.

"He smells upset, and nervous."

Kagome looked at Shippo for a moment before deciding that it would be pointless to tell him that her question was actually rhetorical. Instead, she settled for looking back to where Rinsuke was.

The young priestess began to wave at him with a cheery smile on her face. She thought that maybe he would be put in a better mood if he received a war welcome. Her actions, however, gained the opposite effect. Rinsuke came to stand in front of Kagome with a deepened scowl. Kagome slowly lowered her hand with a nervous giggle.

Rinsuke scrutinized the young priestess with his azure blue gaze. He watched as a single bead of sweat ran down Kagome's forehead. He lowered his head and sighed at the girl. Rinsuke then heard Kagome make an inquisitive noise.

"What's wrong Rinsuke?" Kagome asked with a puzzled look upon her face. Rinsuke looked up to stare at her with angry, yet concern filled eyes. He sighed once more and placed a hand on Kagome's cheek. This sent a small shiver running through Kagome's body; she did nothing to stop him. Rinsuke traced her cheek with his thumb as he began to speak to her.

"You don't see the potential danger in this situation do you?" Rinsuke moved his hand from her face and grasped her hands in his own. He interlocked his calloused fingers with hers, pulling her closer to his body. Kagome squeaked in protest, but Rinsuke continued with his actions.

Once Kagome was close enough, Rinsuke twirled her around and pulled her back toward his chest. Kagome squirmed as he drew his arms around her midsection. Choosing to ignore the girl's distress, Rinsuke pulled her closer and placed his chin on her left shoulder, with Shippo glaring all the while. However, he dare not intervene for fear of the reaction from both parties involved. The young fox demon could only stand and watch in disgust as Rinsuke brought his lips to Kagome's ears and began to whisper to her.

"Kagome, the people of this village have mysteriously disappeared. The y vanished recently, Kagome, some huts are still warm form previously lit fires, which by the way still have burning embers in them. This was not a sudden migration by the inhabitants. There are clothes lines with damps clothes, children's play things, and fresh picked crops. The people of this village were most likely, quite possibly by a demon. What do you think will happen when said demon notices three "residents" are still in the village?"

Rinsuke paused waiting for Kagome to answer his question. When no answer was given, Rinsuke continued to speak.

"Kagome, there is a big chance that the demon that took these people might come back to take us as well. I meant what I said in my village all those days ago. I really would hate to see such a pretty kind hearted girl like you get hurt. Please, Kagome, face reality and realize that staying here puts all of our lives at risk. Let's leave and find a village that is willing to take us in. Maybe we can find a place to call home. Forget about your other world and live with me here, Kagome."

Kagome listened as Rinsuke's tone grew more desperate. Before she could say anything, Rinsuke continued with his plea.

"Kagome, I've only just met you, and yet I've fallen head over heels for you…I love you, Kagome. I know this for certain. I've never felt this way before about anyone. Please, Kagome, Let me protect you let me take care of you and your heart the right way. I can't do any of that if we're still here."

Rinsuke concluded his declaration and promptly met the ground. Over the course of his words, Kagome's body had begun to stiffen. The sincerity of his words made her heart ache with the memory of a certain half demon. She had wanted to hear those words from Inuyasha, not Rinsuke, or anybody else for that matter.

In order to combat her feelings of pain and resentment she had pushed Rinsuke away from her with all her strength.

Kagome looked down at Rinsuke seeing the look of disbelief and confusion on his face. He blinked as he watched Kagome seethe with anger.

Kagome wanted to yell and scream at Rinsuke. But try as she might, she could not bring herself to do so. She was unable to hurt the man's pride any further. He had just confessed his love to her and she pushed him to the ground. Tears began to fill the young woman's eyes as she looked at the man below her.

Kagome turned and ran from the scene. She heard Shippo scolding the man as she ran.

"You really did it this time!" Kagome ignored his words and the fact that he had begun to follow her. She continued to run until she reached a nearby forest area. She made a makeshift opening in the brush and continued with her desperate escape. Shippo followed closely behind until he got caught in the brush and brambles. Kagome used this to her advantage.

The young priestess sprinted through the forest, panting all the way. She refused to stop, unable to face the reality of moving on and away from everything that had happened with Inuyasha. It made her heart ache even more than it already did.

In her mind, Kagome liked to believe that she had forgiven Inuyasha, however in her heart she knew that she still wished for him to come back and love her.

Kagome soon entered a large clearing, with luscious green grass and patches of beautiful flowers. She threw her arms out from her and spun around until she fell into a patch of flowers. After a time, Kagome sighed and began to replay the events of earlier.

_I don't know what to do_, she thought to herself. _I guess the first step would be to go back and apologize to Rinsuke for over reacting, after al, he really didn't do anything wrong._

Sitting up, Kagome sighed inwardly. The air around her was soft and gentle. It lightly caresses her face and tossed her hair. She let the light spring breeze blow away her troubles.

The relaxing quality of the wind caused Kagome to lie back down once more, her eyelids drooping with fatigue. Though she tried valiantly, Kagome was unable to keep her eyes open in order to stay awake. With one last blink, Kagome's eyelids fell closed and she slipped off into a light doze.

…

Kagome awoke to warm embrace. She snuggled into it before realizing that a strong demonic energy was engulfing her.

_What's going on?_ Kagome questioned as she began squirm.

"Don't struggle my love," a smooth and quiet voice said to Kagome softly. "You're safe now my love. I'll take care of you, Kagome."

The young priestess struggled harder against her captor.

"I don't know who you are, but you better let go of me!" Even with her threat, the demon's grip became harder to move in. The more she struggled the tighter the embrace became.

"Just calm down my sweet, I shall not hurt you."

Kagome refused to listen to the demon's words. Her heart was pounding, sending massive amounts of blood into her ears. With the pounding in her head, she was unable to think clearly, so she made a quick and desperate decision.

"Rinsuke!" Kagome's voice echoed through the clearing, causing birds to flee from their nests. The demon's hold became so tight that black dots began to dance in front of Kagome's eyes.

"I only ask that you come quietly my love. However, I suppose you have to journey with me unconscious." The demon hissed in aggravation. "What a shame."

Kagome began to gasp as her airway was constricted. She tried to scream again, but she was unable to draw in any air. After a few more seconds of struggling, Kagome finally gave up and blacked out.

"That's right my dear, fall asleep. All will be well when you awaken…"

The demon, having secured Kagome in a comfortable position in his arms, set off in the direction that Kagome had come from.

…

Sesshomaru walked slowly as to not lose his small traveling party. They had set of from Inutaisho's castle at the crack of dawn. It was now midday, and the perfect time for Rio to start his complaint session.

"My feet were not meant for this type of vigorous strain." He sighed as he shifted upon his bare feet.

"Shoes are always an option," was Sesshomaru's only response.

Rio sighed as he gave a reply.

"Shoes are too much of a hassle, my lord, you should know that."

Sesshomaru made no motion to respond this time. Seeing this both Gakuto and Daiki decided that it would be best to stay on their lord's good side for the day. In order to do so they kept all conversation quiet. Rio on the other hand had no qualms about agitating the demon lord. He decided to continue his mission to make his master rather angry by displaying more dissatisfaction with the situation.

"My lord, if I may be so bold as to point something out to you," he began with a slightly cynical tone.

Sesshomaru clenched his fist tightly. Rio took this as the cue to continue with his earlier statement.

"My lord we have been traveling for at least half of the day now. I'm sure that we should have made it to the village by this time, so I have this simple question to ask you. Where _exactly are we going?_

Rio sent an icy glare toward his lord doing his best to amplify his feelings. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, unclenching his fist. Continuing to walk forward, the demon lord gave his answer.

"We are not headed for the village. I am following the demonic trail of the demon from the other day. At this point I care little about the affairs of that village; should the demon's trail lead us to the village than we shall head there."

Rio sighed then grumbled about having to walk more than was strictly necessary.

Taking action in order to save his friend from meeting an early grave, Daiki shoved a hand over Rio's mouth.

"Keep your mouth shut Rio! I beg you, for your own sake, keep your mouth shut!"

Rio glared at Daiki with a burning intensity that could rival that of the sun.

_That traitor, _the blue haired demon thought dejectedly. He sighed and placed a well manicured hand on his hip. He then began to walk after Sesshomaru, Gakuto and Daiki in tow. Rio decided that he would resume pestering his lord at a later date.

Sesshomaru thanked Daiki internally as he continued to follow the demonic trail. A comfortable silence soon began to envelope the group; this did not last long. Rio began to moan breaking the silence, causing Sesshomaru to become rather disgruntled. The dog demon turned around to reprimand Rio for his actions.

Sesshomaru turned around only to see Rio almost doubled over in pain. Sesshomaru hadn't noticed until now but the demonic aura around the group had grown stronger. It had obviously begun to affect the advisor.

"Rio," Sesshomaru had stated as he walked over toward his vassal. Rio raised a hand to stop his lord's approach.

"I am fine, my lord, the demon is closer now. The sooner you get rid of it…the faster I'll get better…and the sooner we can all go home," Rio stated in between gasps for air.

"Then let us continue," Sesshomaru said picking up the pace once again. Rio Daiki and Gakuto followed closely behind.

Rio began to rub his temples in an attempt to calm the pain that he was experiencing.

Rio, being a Tracer demon, had the power to sense the aura of powerful demon, memorize it and then use the information to track them later, no matter the distance between the two. The process of memorization is what caused Rio's headaches and the like. Though the process of memorization made him the best tool for tracking other demons, it put him through quite a bit of agony. He did his best on a regular basis to stay away from auras that matched the caliber of his lord. There were situations however, such as the current one, which caused his system to go into auto drive, memorizing the aura before he the chance to decide whether he wanted to or not.

The memorization process lasts no more than three days, depending on the demonic energy. For Rio he just hoped that the demon was exterminated before he found out how long the process would last. If the demon ceased to exist the pain would disappear faster.

Rio sighed as he felt Gakuto place a comforting hand upon his shoulder.

"You'll be alright, my friend, the demon will be exterminated soon, and I will personally guarantee to draw a warm bath for you when we return home. Just be strong until then.

Rio nodded slowly in thanks for Gakuto's kind words. He was about to voice a question about the demon to Daiki, when an orange haired demon adolescent came running up behind him. The young demon had run into Rio's side effectively knocking him over.

Rio let out a gasp of pain as his headache was worsened upon colliding with the ground. The demon apologized, offering a hand to him. Rio accepted the hand, using it as leverage in order to regain his footing. He stared at the young demon for a moment before stepping aside, leaning on Gakuto and Daiki for support and letting his lord asses the demon.

Sesshomaru walked toward the demon, a scowl gracing his elegant features. His scowl hardened as he continued to look at the young creature. He had the vague sense that he knew the demon, however, his memory decided to fail him. With little time to waste Sesshomaru decided to get right to the heart of the demon's sudden appearance.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Sesshomaru stared the demon down, waiting for an answer. The demon sighed looking at the demonic prince.

"I figured you wouldn't remember me, hardly anyone ever does. I'm Shippo; I used to travel with Inuyasha and his friends."

_Ah, the little fox kit that traveled with Inuyasha…how quaint, _Sesshomaru thought as he waited for Shippo to answer the latter part of his question.

"You're looking for the demon that abducted the nearby village right, since you brought a Tracer with you?"

"Why have you come here, kit?" Sesshomaru glared once again waiting for Shippo to respond.

"Alright, no need to be so pushy."

Shippo cleared his throat.

"I think the demon that you're looking for happens to be back at the village. I can lead you there faster than your Tracer. You just have to follow me."

Sesshomaru eyes Shippo suspiciously.

"What exactly do you gain from this venture, kit?"

Sesshomaru stared at Shippo, expecting him to answer with a rather selfish statement. What Shippo actually said surprised him.

"Kagome and her friend are in trouble. I need help to save them and you're the closest demon around with enough power."

"Why should I help you or that miserable wench?"

Shippo glared at Sesshomaru, clenching his fists, doing his best to stay calm. Before Shippo had a chance to speak again, Gakuto broke away from Rio and Daiki, in order to talk to his lord.

"My lord Sesshomaru, perhaps this is not a meeting of chance, but rather one of miraculous convenience. Rio is down due to the memorization and Daiki, though good for information, is terrible at everyday combat. Though you have my support, I might also prove to be a nuisance on the battlefield. Finding your target has proved to be more than taxing and for you to complete your mission it might easier to get to the demon faster. Let the young fox child lead you to your prey."

Sesshomaru looked back to Shippo, seeing the look of urgency upon his face.

The dog demon prince finally motioned fro Shippo to lead the way to the village.

Rio sighed as the group of demons continued with their journey.

_Hopefully this will be over quickly…my head hasn't hurt this bad since Inutaisho's memorization. _

Rio, Daiki, and Gakuto soon fell into step with their lord and the fox demon.

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**(A/N)** Yay, another chapter posted and done. Hope you guys on fanfic like it :3. Since I have some chapters written down I will try to post faster.

See you guys in the next chapter. Tah Tah!

~shastar27


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